After staggering through a daunting preseason schedule that included loses to nationally ranked programs like Portland and Brigham Young, Kansas completed a remarkable turnaround this weekend by qualifying for the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas’ victories against Nebraska and Iowa State at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex gave the team five wins, two draws and only one defeat in its last eight games. This weekend’s results meant Kansas would participate in its eighth straight Big 12 Conference Tournament, Nov. 7 to 11 in San Antonio, Texas, and moved the team into a tie for 5th in the Big 12.

Kansas 3, Nebraska 1

Kansas used strong performances from junior forward Sara Rogers and senior midfielder Nicole Cauzillo to overwhelm last-place Nebraska Friday afternoon. Rogers came off the bench to contribute a brace, her first goals of the season, while Cauzillo scored her team-leading fifth goal to power the Jayhawks to a 3-1 win.

Coach Mark Francis said the team started to show the form that fueled its current streak on a consistence basis. He said the biggest change from the beginning of the season was the way the team finished its chances.

“It gives the kids some confidence,” Francis said. “Which at this point, I think, is 99 percent of the battle. We are starting to believe that we actually are good and we can win games and that’s obviously shown in our results.”

Rogers began the scoring in the 22nd minute after a smooth sequence of passes begun by a Cauzillo back-heel pass that allowed sophomore forward Kim Boyer to send a perfectly weighted through ball to Rogers on the right flank. The junior calmly finished the play to stake Kansas to an early 1-0 advantage.

“I got a really good ball played to me for the first one,” Rogers said. “I just looked up and went near post with it.”

The strong contingent of traveling Nebraska fans then watched as Cauzillo and Rogers unleashed extraordinary long-range strikes after halftime to put the game out of reach. The first came in the 60th minute when Cauzillo bent a left-footed shot into the top-left corner from 35 yards out.

“I think I just took a touch and I saw that the keeper was off her line and I just went for it,” Cauzillo said.

The Kansas attack continued to yield results five minutes later when Rogers latched onto a flick from sophomore forward Monica Dolinsky at the edge of the penalty area. Rogers cut back past a defender and drove a shot into the bottom right corner. It was the first multi-goal game of the junior’s career.

A strong defensive performance was tainted when Nebraska scored three minutes later on a corner kick. Francis said he was happy with the team’s overall performance but stressed that it must stay focused during the course of 90 minutes to prevent those kinds of soft goals.

Kansas 1, Iowa State 0

For the first 25 minutes, Iowa State and Kansas battled for possession in the midfield with offensive chances and significant buildup hard to come by. For the next 10 minutes, Kansas attackers began to generate a number of quality chances in front of the goal that eventually resulted in the lone goal and a 1-0 triumph.

The breakthrough came in the 37th minute when a corner kick taken by junior forward Jessica Bush sent on by freshman forward Kaitlyn Cunningham. The pass found freshman defender Katie Williams unmarked in the middle of the box where a powerful header past Iowa State goalkeeper Ann Gleason gave Williams the first goal of her career.

“It was more of a community goal,” Williams said. “Kaitlyn Cunningham flicked it and I just happened to be there.”

Despite creating the bulk of the offensive chances throughout the game, the Jayhawks were forced to buckle down in the final 20 minutes as Iowa State sent waves forward in hopes of equalizing and earning a point.

The Cyclones’ best chance came in the 76th minute when a loose ball from a corner kick fell to an Iowa State player who drove a shot towards senior goalkeeper Colleen Quinn.

“I made the mistake to get the corner so I had to make up for that,” Quinn said. “I don’t want to go into overtime more than anybody else does.”

By preserving the shutout, Quinn earned her fourth shutout of the season and officially clinched a berth in Big 12 Conference Tournament play.

­­— Edited by Meghan Murphy