Kansas State soccer (6-6-2) tied No. 23 Baylor (7-3-4) 0-0 in a double-overtime finish at Buser Family Park in Manhattan. The match marked a program record for three consecutive overtime matches in a season — two against ranked opponents.
“They understand that they can play; they believe now,” K-State head coach Mike Dibbini said. “Those were two top-25 teams coming into our house, and we got two points out of it, so I couldn’t be more proud of what they’ve accomplished.”
The match resulted in a school-record-breaking performance by sophomore goalkeeper Alaina Werremeyer, who saved 13 shots to maintain a clean sheet.
“Unreal,” Dibbini said. “She’s keeping us in the game and I couldn’t be more proud of that.”
The Bears attempted 21 shots — 13 shots on goal — resulting in the 13 saves for Werremeyer. One of the saves came late in the match on a penalty kick in the 82nd minute.
Werremeyer said not a lot goes through her mind during the penalty kick and that she has to stay in the moment.
“You can’t think of what may or may not happen, you have to stay in that moment,” Werremeyer said. “You trust your gut and trust what you know about the other team.”
K-State was not as aggressive as Baylor — only attempting one shot in the first half — but created more looks as the match progressed. In the second half, the Wildcats improved their shot attempts to four and, between overtime periods, had three shot attempts.
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Sophomore forward Maddie Weichel had two close-range opportunities to get K-State on the board from inside the goalie box, but the box was too crowded with green jerseys to get a shot off the first time.
Weichel got a shot off the second time she was in the goalie box, but the ball struck the crossbar to keep the score tied.
“We had two great looks, and if the crossbar was an inch smaller, I think that goal would have went in,” Dibbini said. “That’s how close it was — game of inches.”
The Wildcats are still looking for their seventh win to set a new season-high win total in the program’s short six-season history.
“It shows where we’ve come from, and we’re playing much much better collectively as a team,” Dibbini said.
K-State gets a break from ranked opponents against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Oct. 14. The match is available for viewing on Big 12 Now on ESPN Plus.
