The K-State women’s soccer team played to a 0-0 draw with the San Jose State Spartans in San Jose, California, Sunday night.
The draw puts the Wildcats at 3-1-1 on the season after a 3-0 start, the loss came last week against No. 9 Santa Clara University. The Spartans dropped to 0-2-2 for the year.
Sophomore goalkeeper Emma Malsy added another shutout to her total this year, bringing it up to four on the season. The only team to put a ball past her in regular season play this year was Santa Clara.
“[The defensive backline] have done a nice job,” head coach Mike Dibbini said to K-State Sports. “We are plugging up the holes. If teams want to score on us they have to go around us or they have to score from distance.”
In the 28th minute, the Wildcats got what may have been their best chance of the evening, a penalty kick after a handball in the box by the Spartans. However, sophomore forward Katie Cramer pushed the shot wide left.
In the first half, each team put two shots on goal, but the Spartans got a few more total shots in, 10 to K-State’s seven.
In the second half, junior forward Tatum Wagner got K-State going again quickly from the 18-yard box. This time, she forced San Jose State’s senior goalkeeper Paige Simoneau to make a diving stop in the top-left corner of the goal.
It was Malsy’s turn to make a game-saving play at the start of the first of two 10-minute overtimes. Malsy dove to her left to knock a deflected ball around the post to keep the Wildcats alive.
The Wildcats were out-shot 20-15 by the Spartans, who also got three more corner kicks than the Wildcats.
Wagner and senior defender Megan Kalkofen each recorded yellow cards for K-State.
Despite not getting to add to their win column, Dibbini found some positives in the Wildcat’s performance.
“We showed some character today,” Dibbini said to K-State Sports. “The biggest positive is we got another shutout. That was a good team and they are very stingy. They are athletic in certain areas and challenged us.”
The Wildcats will be in action next when they return to Manhattan to take on the University of Missouri-Kansas City Roos on Sept. 7. K-State fans can stream the game on K-StateHD.TV and hear it live on 101.5 KROCK.
