Kansas soccer dominated Cincinnati with a 4-1 win on Thursday.
The Jayhawks were able to take control of tempo in the first half, spreading the ball well and pushing the pace offensively. Kansas put about four shots up, all saved by the Cincinnati keeper before they were able to put the first points on the board. Around the 24 minute mark, sophomore forward Brie Severns struck a beautiful ball into the top left corner for a 1-0 lead. Senior captain Rylan Childers earned the assist.
From then on, the Kansas offense looked sharp and controlled the pace the rest of the half. There were several nice crosses and passes made for possible goal opportunities.
“The chemistry on the field has been good,” head coach Mark Francis said to media following the game. “We moved the ball really well.”
At the 34 minute mark, Kansas was set up for a corner kick. After a couple of shots on goal and deflections, sophomore forward Shira Elinav was there to put the Jayhawks up 2-0. They weren’t done there; a few minutes later, sophomore defender Kate Dreyer found herself in the right spot at the right time and put it in to give Kansas the 3-0 lead going into the half.
Kansas finished the half leading in shots 11-1 and corner kicks 4-1.
“We’ve played some pretty good halves, but that’s as well as we’ve played this year,” coach Francis said on the first half for the Jayhawks.
In the second half, Cincinnati looked to play with a more aggressive pace on offense. The team moved the ball a lot better and played at a much quicker pace. At the 51 minute mark, the Bearcats got on the board with a goal from junior forward Maddy Pittman.
The Jayhawks quickly answered, and around the 53-minute mark sophomore midfielder Avery Smith put one in to make it 4-1, with the assist coming from Brie Severns.
Cincinnati put up a fair fight in the second half. At the end of the game, Kansas still led in shots 13-11 while also leading 5-4 in saves and 7-5 in corner kicks.
Kansas ended the Bearcats’ three-game win streak and now improves to 4-2-1 on the season. Cincinnati is now also 4-2-1. Jayhawks soccer play again this Sunday against Washington State at 1:00 p.m. at Rock Chalk Park.
