Coach Mark Francis isn’t one to gloss over his team’s performances. When the Jayhawks don’t play well, Francis is the first to point out his squad’s shortcomings, win or lose.

Minutes after No. 25 Kansas nipped Auburn 2-1 in a wild game Sunday afternoon at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex, Francis delivered a typically frank evaluation of the frantic 90 minutes of action.

“They deserved to win the game,” Francis said. “They had better opportunities. They controlled the tempo of the game more than we did. Other than score two good goals, I don’t think we did a whole lot right.”

The Jayhawks did just enough to survive a second-half barrage by the Tigers, including a goal disallowed by an offside call, and then taking advantage of a late red card to win consecutive games to start the season for the first time since 2004 – the last year the team made the NCAA Tournament.

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Kansas Soccer vs. Auburn

One year after scuffling to a 1-1 draw with Auburn in Hawaii, Kansas made its few chances count, despite being out shot 17 to 8 and conceding six corner kicks without creating any of its own. It was exactly the type of game that seemed to elude the Jayhawks’ grasp a year ago when they lost seven of their first nine.

“Last year, we would have found a way to lose that game,” Francis said. “This season, we play a good team, we play like absolute horse crap and we still win, 2-1. As a coach, you’ve got to say, ‘Hey, you know what? We’re doing something right. We’re finding a way to win the game.’ But I told the players, we have to demand more out of ourselves than what we did today.”

Despite being outplayed for most of the game, Kansas got off to a dream start when junior midfielder Monica Dolinsky scored six minutes into the game. Dolinsky picked up a loose ball in the midfield, pushed forward into the final third and unleashed an unstoppable drive into the bottom corner after Auburn failed to step up defensively.

Kansas weathered Auburn’s pressure for the remainder of the first half, but the visitors capitalized on lackadaisical defending after halftime.

The Tigers found their equalizer in the 51st minute after pinning the Jayhawks in their own half. Auburn forward Becca Howell evaded defender Lauren Jackson off the dribble and beat goalkeeper Julie Hanley with a dipping effort from just outside the penalty area.

The tide seemed to turn completely in Auburn’s favor in the 84th minute when forward Caitlin King slotted a rebound past Hanley. But the Tigers celebration was cut short by the referee’s offside flag.

“That was huge,” Dolinsky said. “When they first scored, we kind of let down. Then we saw the official call it back. We just knew we got lucky, so it was our turn to score.”

Kansas scored two minutes later, but not before some controversy when an already physical game took an ugly turn.

Dolinsky and Auburn midfielder Chelsea Yauch each received yellow cards while jockeying for midfield position before a goal kick. On the ensuing kick, Yauch took exception to more contact from the Kansas midfielder, threw a high elbow and promptly received her second yellow card eight seconds after her first — one of five cards issued in a 10-minute span.

Freshman forward Emily Cressy played hero 19 seconds later to record her second goal in as many games when defender Lauren Jackson’s free kick bounced favorably into her path.

After deftly turning past her defender, Cressy collected the ball and calmly beat the Auburn goalkeeper, sparking a fist pump from Francis and celebration on the sideline.

“Emily is a goal-scorer,” Francis said. “I’m not sure anybody else on the team could have finished that as composed as she did.”

— — Edited by Lauren Keith