The Kansas State women’s soccer team kicked off their regular season with a win against Saint Louis University on Friday after a late goal gave the Wildcats the victory over the Billikens.
The match started out with the Billikens taking advantage of the Wildcat defense, earning four shot on goals in the first half. K-State was only able to get one shot on goal against SLU during the first half.
K-State would finish the game with more shots-on-goal than SLU, winning that category 7-4.
While both the Wildcats and Billikens had opportunities to score, they came up short in the first half, with a score of 0-0 at the break.
Olivia Petit, a sophomore midfielder and defender for the Billikens, was an aggressive player for the team as she sparked many aggressive plays throughout the night, earning a yellow card in the 75th minute.
That yellow card seemed to ignite a flame within the Wildcats.
Tatum Wagner, a senior forward for the Wildcats, gave her team a critical chance to score in the final minutes. She had a shot on goal that was blocked by Olivia Silverman, junior goalkeeper for the Billikens.
A few moments later, Morgan Mauck, senior midfielder for the Wildcats, came up with a much-needed score to put the Wildcats ahead 1-0 with 81:20 on the clock.
While the Billikens tried to come back in the last few minutes of the match, K-State was able to hold them off giving them their first win of the season.
“It’s a big win for us against a really good team,” head coach Mike Dibbini said after the game. “Mauck’s goal was from a play that was drawn up today and she framed the play well, and that’s what happened.”
The Wildcats will return to their home field on Sunday, August 19, to take on Oakland University at 12 p.m. for their next match. The match will also be the soccer team’s Sunday Family Day, including a free postgame youth clinic as well as autographs by the team on the field following the game.
K-State’s match against Oakland on Sunday can be seen on K-StateHD.TV or Facebook Live, or listened to on 101.5 KROCK.
