After nearly 18 months since the last full capacity sports crowd at Kansas State, the Wildcat faithful showed up in full force on Thursday to watch the K-State Wildcats (0-1-0) take on the Weber State Wildcats (1-0-0).
K-State started the game aggressively but had a couple of missed opportunities when Weber State goalkeeper Kaytlin Bradley was off her line.
“I thought early on we played some good soccer, but didn’t get one in the back of the net,” head coach Mike Dibbini said to K-State Athletics. “We had some chances early on, and then we kind of fumbled.”
Weber State found an opening in the 31st minute when Lauren McConnell floated a shot over sophomore goalkeeper Alaina Werremeyer.
“It was a beautiful shot. That’s why we love the game of soccer. Kudos to her,” Werremeyer said to K-State Athletics. “That was amazing. That’s why people come and watch soccer. It was a great shot.”
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Despite constant attacks, K-State stayed behind 0-1 going into the half. The comeback became even harder to reach in the 62nd minute when the ball fell to Weber State’s Morgan Furmaniak off a corner kick, putting the ball away for a 2-0 lead.
K-State kept applying pressure but failed to find a way back into the game. They finished with 20 shots throughout the game, seven of which were on target.
“We had lots of chances to put the game away early. We let a team like that stay in the game and they gained more confidence and we saw what happened,” senior midfielder Brookelynn Entz said to K-State Athletics. “They scored on their first shot on goal. I think after that we panicked a little bit, got out of our game and we were trailing. We can’t let that happen. We have to be on the front foot and score early and put away our opportunities early.”
K-State looks to recuperate before finishing the home opening weekend against Omaha, facing off against the Mavericks at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The match will also be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
