MANHATTAN, Kansas (K-State Athletics) – K-State soccer begins the home portion of its schedule, as the Wildcats host a pair of matches at Buser Family Park. For tickets, call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets.
• The Wildcats will host UTSA on Thursday at 8 p.m. Thursday is National Waffle Day and all K-State students in attendance will have access to a complimentary waffle bar. The first 300 K-State students will receive a free K-State Soccer t-shirt.
• K-State will welcome in Creighton on Sunday at 1 p.m. Sunday’s match is Pups on the Pitch as fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to Buser Family Park. The first 150 dogs will receive a free K-State dog bandana.
• The home stand will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play), Oscar Montenegro (analyst) and Hannah Whetstone (sideline) will be on the call.
Last Time Out
• K-State registered its first unbeaten opening weekend since the 2018 season, as the Wildcats captured a 4-1 win at Green Bay and worked a 0-0 draw at 18th-ranked Northwestern.
• In the 4-1 win at Green Bay, the Wildcats notched the first road win in a season-opener in program history.
• Goals were scored by sophomore Jazmin Brown (twice), senior Aliyah El-Naggar and freshman Jo Sees. El-Naggar’s goal was the game-winning goal, the first of her career.
• Brown became the second player in program history (Katie Cramer, 2019) to score two or more goals in a season-opener. The defender from Gilbert, Arizona, scored the first two goals of her career. For her efforts, Brown was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week, College Soccer News National Team of the Week and named the Big 12 co-Defensive Player of the Week.
• At 18th-ranked Northwestern, K-State secured the first road draw against a ranked opponent in program history.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Murphy Sheaff collected her first shutout with the Wildcats, pocketing five saves.
Dibbini In Eighth Season at K-State
• K-State announced the formation of its women’s soccer program on Oct. 12, 2014. With the task of building a program from the ground up, K-State announced on Dec. 26, 2014, that Mike Dibbini would be the first head coach in program history.
• Dibbini is in his eighth season with the Wildcats. He owns a 298-152-47 (.647) career mark, including a 33-74-16 (.333) mark at K-State.
• Prior to coming to K-State, Dibbini spent eight seasons at Kansas Wesleyan (NAIA) and two seasons at Cal Poly Pomona (NCAA D-II).
K-State in Home Openers
• The Wildcats will play their eighth home-opener in program history.
• K-State is 2-5-0 in its previous seven home-openers.
• Kansas State has been outscored by its opponents in the five home-openers, 11-6 (-5).
Better Late than Never for K-State
• In its eighth season of action, K-State has scored 67 of its 114 total goals in the second half or later of matches.
• Riley Baker tallied the latest regulation game-winning goal in program history, as she scored on a penalty kick at 89:42 of the second half at Baylor on Oct. 9, 2022. It was the first game-winning goal of Baker’s career.
• Freshman Jo Sees added her name to the list in the 2023 season-opener. Sees registered the fourth latest goal in school history and the second-latest regulation goal with her tap in at 89:47 against Green Bay.
• The Wildcats have scored 12 goals in the 85th minute or later in the history of the program. Of those 12 goals, four were game-winning goals (Brookelynn Entz, Colorado State, Sept. 17, 2017 [ot]; Adah Anderson, vs. North Alabama, Aug. 29, 2021; Caylee Thornhill, at Kansas, Sept. 30, 2021 [ot]; Riley Baker, at Baylor, Oct. 9, 2022) and two were game-tying goals (Aliyah El-Naggar, at Missouri, March 28, 2021; Laramie Hall, at Creighton, Sept. 2, 2016).
• During the 2023 season, K-State scored three of its four goals in the second half.
Working Out of the Corners
• K-State took advantage of large margin of corner kicks against Green Bay to find the back of the net twice.
• The Wildcats registered a 12-0 edge in corner kicks in the opener. K-State scored on its second corner attempt of the season, as Kiran Singh found the head of Jazmin Brown in the 19th minute. Singh found Brown a second time in the 81st minute to seal the win.
• The 12 corner kicks were the second-most for a single-match in program history.
• Last season, K-State registered 82 corner kicks (4.32 per game).
K-State Posts Blank Scoresheets
• K-State recorded its first shutout of the season at 18th-ranked Northwestern. Sophomore goalkeeper Murphy Sheaff made five saves to blank Northwestern.
• K-State carded their first shutout since September 22, 2022, at Iowa State.
• The Wildcats notched five shutouts in the 2022 season, the fifth time K-State has registered five or more shutouts in a season.
• In its eight seasons of action, the Wildcats have registered 36 shutouts. Kansas State owns an all-time record of 26-0-10 in games allowing zero goals.
• Of the 36 shutouts in program history, three goalkeepers own 29 of them. Miranda Larkin set the school record for career shutouts with 10, while Alaina Werremeyer joined Larkin with her 10th shutout and former goalkeeper Emma Malsy owns nine.
Shot Prevention is Goal Prevention
• K-State was solid defensively in its opening weekend of the 2023 season.
• The Wildcats limited its two foes to a combined 11.0 shots per match and just 3.5 shots on goal per game.
• At Green Bay on August 17, the Wildcats held the Phoenix to three total shots and just two shots on goal.
• At Northwestern on August 20, K-State fended off 19 total shots but limited the 18-ranked team in the nation to just five on goal.
• K-State’s 2022 version of the defensive backline was one of the best defensive units in the seven seasons of the program.
• The Wildcats allowed 12.5 shots per game and 5.5 shots on goal per game.
• The 12.5 shots per game were 1.6 shots per game lower than the previous record season of 2021 at 14.1 per game.
• The 5.5 shots on goal allowed per game in the 2022 season were 1.1 less than the previous record low of 6.6 shots on goal allowed per game in 2018.
• K-State’s 1.26 goals against average last season was the second-lowest in program history.
All That Jaz
• Centerback Jazmin Brown put her name on the scoring ledger for the first time in her collegiate career and added a second goal for good measure in the season-opener.
• The 2022 Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection procured her first collegiate goal in the 19th minute on a corner service from Kiran Singh. Brown headed the pass in for her first goal.
• The product of Gilbert, Arizona, notched her second goal in the 81st minute. The second tally was a mirror image of the first, with a service on a corner from Singh and Brown headed the orb into the net.
• Brown is the first K-State defender to score two or more goals in a match.
• Brown was the second K-State player to score two or more goals in a season-opener, joining Katie Cramer in 2019.
Oh Captain, My Captain
• Fifth-year defender and team co-captain Aliyah El-Naggar found an opportune moment for her first career game-winning goal.
• At Green Bay on August 17, El-Naggar finished a chance in the 73rd minute to break a 1-1 tie and send K-State to its first win of the season.
• The Mason, Ohio, native, owns three goals in her four seasons at K-State. She is the second player in program history (Kyler Goins) with a game-winning goal and a game-tying goal on their scoring ledger.
Singh Us a Song
• Senior forward Kiran Singh moved onto the K-State record books in her first appearance as a Wildcat.
• At Green Bay on August 17, Singh recorded two assists – both on corner kicks.
• With the assists, the product of Cypress, Texas, tied for third in school history for assists in a senior season. She was the first Wildcat to record two or more assists in their K-State debut.
• With her two assists in the opening weekend, Singh ranks tied for third in the Big 12 and tied for 15th in the nation for assists per game (1.00 apg).
• Singh owns 10 assists in her collegiate career, as she registered eight assists in three seasons at UTSA.
Blank Sheaff
• Sophomore goalkeeper Murphy Sheaff kept a clean sheet at 18th-ranked Northwestern on August 20.
• Sheaff hauled in five saves to register the shutout. She owns an active streak of 170:17 of shutout soccer.
• The product of Sunshine Coast, Australia, is the second goalkeeper in program history to card a shutout against a ranked opponent, joining Alaina Werremeyer’s 2021 shutout of 23rd-ranked Baylor.
• Sheaff ranks second in the Big 12 for goals against average at 0.50.
• Sheaff owns six shutouts in her collegiate career, notching five while a member of Jacksonville last season.
• A season ago, Sheaff led the nation in save percentage (.902) and finished second in the ASUN and 17th in the nation for goals against average (0.60).
- Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (vs. UTSA)
- Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (vs. Creighton)
- Live Stats
- K-State notes vs. UTSA/Creighton
MATCH #3
UTSA (2-0-0) at K-State (1-0-1)
Thursday, August 24, 2023 | 8 p.m. | Buser Family Park | Manhattan, Kan.
WATCH LIVE
Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller
Analyst: Oscar Montenegro
Sideline: Hannah Whetstone
LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com
SERIES HISTORY
UTSA leads, 1-0-0
Last Meeting: Aug. 28, 2022 (San Antonio, Texas)
Last Result: UTSA won, 2-1
Last K-State win: –
K-State vs. American Athletic Conference: 2-0-0
MATCH #4
Creighton (0-1-1) at K-State (1-0-1)
Sunday, August 27, 2023 | 1 p.m. | Buser Family Park | Manhattan, Kan.
WATCH LIVE
Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Play-by-Play: Brian Smoller
Analyst: Oscar Montenegro
Sideline: Hannah Whetstone
LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com
SERIES HISTORY
Creighton leads, 2-0-1
Last Meeting: Aug. 23, 2019 (Omaha, Neb.)
Last Result: Creighton won, 3-2
Last K-State win: –
K-State vs. Big East Conference: 0-2-1