Monday, November 17, 2008
For 34 minutes Kansas fought to keep its season alive, weathering the first-half pressure applied by No. 1 seed Stanford in the NCAA Tournament’s second round.
In the span of seven minutes, the Cardinals effectively extinguished the Jayhawks’ tournament hopes with three rapid-fire goals to bring a disappointing end to 2008 for coach Mark Francis and his team.
Stanford (20-1-1) added two more goals in the second half to rout Kansas 5-0 Sunday afternoon at Cagan Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., and advance to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend.
Playing on the Cardinal’s home field, the Jayhawks (13-8-2) never found an offensive rhythm while their opponents did what they had done all season — score and score often.
Francis said he was disappointed that his team didn’t cut off shooting lanes toward the goal, but admitted the Cardinals made the most of their opportunities.
“I don’t know if they were five goals better than us,” he said. “But they were clearly better than we were on the day.”
Junior goalkeeper Julie Hanley had two saves as Stanford peppered her with seven early shots, but there was nothing Hanley could do when junior forward Kelley O’Hara sent a long-distance effort into the top corner in the 34th minute.
The goal opened the floodgates as Stanford’s junior forward Hillary Heath and freshman midfielder Camille Levin both scored from distance to create a three-goal cushion.
“It’s disappointing because for the first 29 minutes I was watching the game, and I was thinking, ‘Shoot, we are playing with them,’” Francis said. “It was neck and neck. But that’s what good teams do. They punish you.”
Sophomores Christen Press and Morgan Redman added goals of their own halfway through the second half to remove any doubt. Stanford outshot Kansas 21-7 as Press led the way with seven shots.
JAYHAWKS PREVAIL IN FIRST ROUND
Before losing to Stanford, Kansas defeated Denver 2-1 Friday night at Cagan Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., to claim its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2004.
Sophomore defender Katie Williams relieved some early jitters with her third goal of the season, and junior forward Shannon McCabe added her game-winning goal before halftime to stake the Jayhawks to a lead they didn’t relinquish.
Denver (18-3-2) began the game on the front foot, putting Kansas’ defense under pressure, but Williams’ goal ignited coach Mark Francis’ team for the rest of the half.
Williams rose above the Pioneer defense to clang a header in off the crossbar from junior midfielder Monica Dolinsky’s corner kick. It was a team-leading 10th assist for Dolinsky.
“It was a really big goal,” Dolinsky said, “especially considering the beginning of the game was pretty hectic. It let us relax a little bit more, and it was a shot to the heart for our team.”
The Jayhawks outshot the Pioneers 14-7 in the first half, and found the all-important second goal when McCabe got behind the defense just seconds before halftime. Senior midfielder Missy Geha slipped McCabe in on goal and she made no mistake, slipping a shot into the bottom corner from the top of the penalty area.
The beginning of the second half wasn’t so kind as Denver pulled a goal back when two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Taryn Hemmings headed past junior goalkeeper Julie Hanley.
“We had some mental errors in the first 10 minutes of the second half,” McCabe said. “That ended up being our downfall because they scored. But I think we stayed composed, played good defense and were able to find a way to win at the end of the day.”
Denver had two late chances from dead-ball situations, but Kansas held on to give Francis his fourth tournament victory. Hanley is the second Kansas goalkeeper to win a NCAA Tournament game. Meghan Miller won the previous three.
— — Edited by Adam Mowder
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