Kansas State held a one goal lead at the half on Sunday afternoon at John Crain Field, but Oklahoma rallied with three goals in the second half to down the Wildcats, 3-2. The two goals by K-State were the most the Wildcats have scored in a Big 12 match. That’s according to a release from K-State Athletics.
“The first half was good for us in terms of getting on the board first,” said K-State head coach Mike Dibbini. “I felt like going into the second half the mentality switched off a little bit. Instead of looking for that second goal and getting separation, we got into waiting for something to happen instead of keeping the urgency on our part. They wanted it more than we did in the second half and they punished us for it.”
K-State (6-10-1, 1-7-0 Big 12) senior goalkeeper Miranda Larkin kept the Wildcats in the match in the early stages. Larkin punched away an Oklahoma blast from 10 yards in the 16th minute. In the 21st minute, Larkin came off her line to smother an Oklahoma breakaway.
The Wildcats responded to Larkin’s play by breaking into the scoring column first in the 22nd minute. Freshman Hannah Davis pushed the ball down the right sideline and to the feet of junior Tatum Wagner.
Wagner sped into the 18-yard box and fired a low line drive toward the left side of the Sooner net. Oklahoma goalkeeper McKinley Crone deflected it with one hand, but freshman Brookelynn Entz (k-st.at/2yEHYdv) pounced on the rebound and tapped in from six yards out for her team-high fourth goal this season. This was her first goal since her overtime game-winner against Colorado State on September 17.
The four goals for Entz are a new single season school record, surpassing the three goals scored by Wagner and Laramie Hall in 2016. Entz has also tied the K-State career goals scored record with Wagner.
Oklahoma (3-11-4, 1-4-3) and K-State finished the first half tied with six shots apiece. The Wildcats registered five shots on goal, while the Sooners tallied two. Oklahoma had the edge in corner kicks at 4-0.
The Sooners evened the match six minutes into the second half. Oklahoma’s Rasha Roberts gathered a deflected cross 10 yards in front of the K-State goal and swiped her shot into the net.
Oklahoma captured a 2-1 lead in the 74th minute, as Tori Bowman sent a free kick from near the K-State bench into the K-State six-yard box. Among the mass of bodies in front of the net, the ball found the head of Kaylee Dao for the goal.
The Sooners increased its lead to 3-1 in the 77th minute. Bowman took another free kick and sent the pass across the field to Lizzie Luallin. Luallin took one dribble and fired a low line drive from 35 yards, which hit the post and went in.
K-State pulled within 3-2 in the 80th minute. Sophomore Laramie Hall drove a ball toward the Oklahoma net from 35 yards. Freshman Maddie Souder (k-st.at/2xecc5N) settled the ball and tapped her shot into the net between the Oklahoma keeper’s legs. It was Souder’s second goal of the season and Hall’s second assist.
Oklahoma registered a 17-9 lead in total shots, including an 11-3 edge in the second half. The Sooners finished with a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. Overall, there were 30 total fouls called including 17 on K-State and 13 on the Sooners.
Kansas State will conclude its first season in the Big 12 on Friday, October 27, as the Wildcats host Iowa State on Senior Night at 7 p.m. Prior to the match, K-State will honor the careers of its five seniors: Jade Anderson, Kelcy Fiser, Miranda Larkin, Jaclyn Means and Abby Sieperda.
