Soccer has record-breaking day in victory against Austin Peay

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K-State Wildcat's celebrate after Maddie Weichel scores against Texas Tech in the final half of the soccer match. KSU finished the night 2-0 against TTU on senior night at Buser Family Park, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. (Archive photo by Dylan Connell | Collegian Media Group)

The Kansas State soccer team traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee, on Friday to play its first away game of the season against Austin Peay.

K-State dominated from the opening whistle, scoring in the seventh minute off a corner for the second consecutive game. A corner cross from sophomore forward Maddie Weichel put the ball right in the middle of the box for junior Jesse Loren. Loren headed the ball right above the goalkeeper’s reach to give the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead.

“It’s great that we’re executing on set pieces,” head coach Mike Dibbini said to K-State Athletics about the two straight game-winning goals off corner kicks. “We have some good height and size in the box. We’re keeping it very, very simple and right now that’s all it takes.”

Not even two minutes had passed before K-State was back in front of the Austin Peay goal yet again. Maddie Weichel had a long ground cross from the left side of the field that reached senior midfielder Brookelynn Entz who buried the ball into the top-right of the Governors’ net.

The Wildcats kept up the pressure for the rest of the first half but didn’t score again before halftime. K-State led Austin Peay in shots nine to one going into the break.

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Right after the second half began, K-State was back on the offensive. A run from sophomore midfielder Porter List left the Governers’ goalkeeper in a tough situation as List approached the goal. List passed the ball off to junior forward Marisa Weichel, tapping the ball away for a 3-0 lead.

This was Marisa Weichel’s second goal in as many matches, becoming the first Wildcat to score in back-to-back matches since Entz on Oct. 25 and Oct. 30 of the 2020 season.

The Wildcats struck again eight minutes later when Maddie Weichel had another floating cross into the box that landed right on junior defender Aliyah El-Naggar’s head. El-Naggar headed the ball into the opposite corner to increase K-State’s lead to 4-0.

Maddie Weichel broke the school record for assists with her third assist of the day. Her three assists also propelled her into a tie for fourth for assists in a single season — just three games into the 2021 campaign.

The Wildcats were not finished, however. At the 75-minute mark, a pass downfield from senior defender Emily Crain gave freshman forward Riley Baker a chance for a pass to junior midfielder Roo Yarnell-Williams right in front of the goal. Yarnell-Williams scored the final goal of the day for the Wildcats.

The five goals were the second-highest single-match total in school history, only behind a 6-0 win over Oakland in 2016.

Sophomore goalkeeper Alaina Werremeyer had two saves and recorded her third career shutout.

“As far as our performance on offense we played very solid,” Dibbini said. “There’s good momentum right now and it gives us good confidence, however, I still don’t think we’re not even close to reaching our full potential and that’s the scary part of this team. If they continue to believe and work hard together, the sky’s the limit.”

K-State (2-1-0, 0-0-0) will stay in Clarksville for its next matchup at 1 P.M. on Sunday against North Alabama (0-1-2) in the first neutral-site match in program history. The match will take place at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field, home of the Governors.

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Joshua Read

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