MANHATTAN - K-State will begin its seventh season of action this weekend, as the Wildcats host Northwestern on Thursday at 7 p.m., and Northern Colorado on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
• Tickets for both matches can be purchased by contacting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS, visiting kstatesports.com/tickets or at the Buser Family Park ticket booth. Thursday’s match will include free pizza and ice cream for K-State students.
• Both matches will be available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Oscar Montenegro (analyst) will have the call.
New at Buser Family Park in 2022
• K-State will cross the 50-home match mark in program history during the 2022 season, but something else will be more noticeable to fans attending matches at Buser Family Park this season.
• Buser Family Park features a brand-new Daktronics LED video display on the east side of the grounds. The board, measuring 23 feet high by 41 feet wide (930 square), is the third-largest video display at a collegiate soccer stadium in the nation.
• The board also includes Sportsound 500HD audio system to improve the audio at Buser Family Park.
• The board was gifted to the K-State soccer program through a seven-figure donation from the namesake of the stadium, John and Ann Buser.
Last Time Out
• K-State played a two-match exhibition slate, as the Wildcats split the schedule (1-1-0).
• The Cats recorded a 1-0 win over Missouri State in a match that was adjusted to four, 30-minute quarters. Sophomore Adah Anderson registered a goal in the second minute to provide the margin. This marked the third preseason goal in two seasons for Anderson, who scored a pair of goals at South Dakota State in the preseason of 2021.
• In the final preseason tuneup, K-State fell, 2-1, at Wyoming on Wednesday.
• Trailing 1-0 at halftime, freshman Andra Mohler squared the match in the 65th minute with an unassisted goal.
• In the two matches, K-State outshot its opponents, 37-16, including a 12-9 advantage in shots on goal.
K-State in Season Openers
• The Wildcats are 1-4-1 in its previous six season-openers. This is the first time K-State will open three consecutive seasons at home.
• K-State has scored at least one goal in three of the six season-openers.
• K-State will play its fourth home season-opener.
K-State in Home Openers
• The Wildcats will play their seventh home-opener in program history. K-State is 2-4-0 in its previous six home-openers.
• Kansas State has been outscored by its opponents in the five home-openers, 9-5 (-4).
Overtime Rule Change for 2022
• During the offseason, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) approved changes to overtime rules for the regular season and postseason beginning in 2022.
• For the regular season, overtime has been eliminated, meaning if a match is tied after the regulation 90 minutes, it will end in a tie. Previously, teams played two 10-minute overtime periods in a sudden-victory (golden goal) format, and if neither team scored, the game ended in a tie.
• In conference tournaments and NCAA postseason games, the sudden-victory component has been eliminated, and teams will play two 10-minute overtime periods instead. Also, when a substitution is made by the winning team in the last five minutes of the second overtime, the game clock will stop. If the game remains tied, a penalty-kick shootout will be held to determine the winner.
Wildcats to Make Debut
• K-State’s 2022 roster includes 13 newcomers including 12 true freshmen. Of the 13 newcomers, only Sydney Sharts (16 matches; Oklahoma) has collegiate soccer experience.
• During its brief history, K-State has seen one freshman score in a season-opener as Katie Cramer delivered the first goal in program history scoring directly on a corner kick at Saint Louis on August 19, 2016.
2022 Roster Items
• K-State and head coach Mike Dibbini will carry 35 players on its 2022 roster.
• The Wildcats feature a program-high 12 seniors (Rachel Harris [redshirt], Rebecca Bartosh, Shannon Dukes, Aliyah El-Naggar, Kyler Goins, Jesse Loren, Bailey Nemechek, Caylee Thornhill, Shae Turner, Kursten von Klahr, Marisa Weichel and Roo Yarnell Williams) and five juniors.
• Overall, K-State returns 22 letter winners and 11 of the 12 point scorers from 2021.
• K-State added 13 newcomers, including 12 freshmen, in the offseason.
• K-State has two sets of sisters on its roster: Gillispies (Keila & Kenzi) and Weichels (Maddie & Marisa). According to Lindy Brown at Duke, K-State is one of eight programs in the nation this season to have two or more sets of sisters.
Odds and Ends from the 2021 Season
• K-State tied the school record with a three-match unbeaten streak. The Wildcats defeated Kansas, the registered consecutive draws against ranked foes - (9) West Virginia and (23) Baylor. This was the first time K-State recorded a three-match unbeaten streak in Big 12 action.
• Kansas State ended a 13-match losing streak to ranked opponents with a 1-1 draw with ninth-ranked West Virginia on Oct. 7 in Manhattan. This was the first draw in league action in program history.
• K-State set the school record for goals in a season with 20 and the record for goals per game, 1.11.
• During its nine-match non-conference schedule, the Wildcats set the school record for goals in non-conference play with 14.
• Kansas State tied the school record for goals from players entering a match off the bench with five.
• The Wildcats scored at least one goal in every 15-minute segment of a match this season and registered an overtime goal for the first time since Sept. 17, 2017.
• The Wildcats set the school record for total points (60) and points per game (3.33) in a season. This was the first time K-State surpassed 60 points in a season.
• Four Wildcats notched five or more total points this season, which is second in program history for players with five or more points in a season (2017; 5).
• Kansas State set the school record for assists in a season with 20 and players with an assist in a season (12).
• K-State registered at least one assist on 17 of 20 goals scored in 2021; scoring just three unassisted goals over the entirety of the 2021 season.
• The Wildcats set the school record for assists in a match with six at Austin Peay on Aug. 27.
• K-State tied the school record for shutouts in a season with six. The Wildcats also tied the school records for consecutive shutouts with three and scoreless halves in a season with 20.
• The Wildcats established a new school record for consecutive shutout minutes, holding opponents scoreless for 317:55 minutes of action from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2.
• Kansas State tied the school record for fewest goals allowed in Big 12 matches with 14 allowed.
• K-State set the school record for goals allowed in the second half and overtime this season, allowing eight total goals in the second half and overtime. The Wildcats did not allow a second half and/or overtime goal from Sept. 12 to Oct. 14, a span of seven matches.
• Wildcat goalkeepers allowed 24 goals in 2021, the second-fewest goals allowed in a season since K-State played a full 18-match schedule in 2017.
• Defensively, K-State allowed 253 total shots which were the fewest in an 18-game season in program history.
• K-State allowed the lowest shot per game total, 14.1, in the program’s six season history. The Wildcats lowered their opponent shots per game average from 2020 by 2.5 shots (16.6 to 14.1).
• Marisa Weichel set the school record for goals by a junior (6) and game-winning goals in a season (3).
• Marisa Weichel was the second player in program history to score five or more goals in a season.
• Sophomore Maddie Weichel set the school record for assists in a match with three at Austin Peay on Aug. 27.
• Redshirt sophomore Caylee Thornhill scored the second overtime game-winning goal in program history and the first in Big 12 play, as she registered the latest goal in school history (98:21) with her tally at Kansas on Sept. 30.