Monday, September 15, 2008
For five games winning was easy for No. 21 Kansas. Every bounce and call seemed to fall in the Jayhawks’ favor and they took advantage, outscoring their opponents by 11 goals and establishing themselves in national polls in the process.
Kansas finally found out what it’s like to be on the other end of the spectrum. Faced with its first two-goal deficit of the season, coach Mark Francis’ team couldn’t find the final ball to bridge the gap as Loyola University Chicago recorded an upset 2-1 victory on an overcast Sunday afternoon at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
Kansas freshman forward Emily Cressy battles with sophomore Allie Roufus of Loyola-Chicago for control of the ball during a 1-2 loss on Sunday. Cressy is the current point leader for Kansas thus far in the season with four goals, two of which won the game for the Jayhawks.
“I told the team, ‘remember what this feels like because losing sucks,’” Francis said. “We haven’t experienced that so maybe we were taking things a little bit for granted.”
The loss is all the more disappointing considering a victory would have matched the Kansas’ best-ever start. And even more upsetting considering the manner in which they lost.
Kansas outshot Loyola 19 to seven, led by junior midfielder Monica Dolinsky’s seven attempts, but were plagued by mediocre delivery from the flanks and settled for low-percentage passes and shots as the game slipped away.
“We tried to play the ball over the top,” Dolinsky said. “The ground was too wet, it’s too windy and it just wasn’t working for us.”
Despite being pigeonholed in their own end for much of the first half, the Ramblers opened the scoring in the 29th minute when a moment of individual brilliance from forward Cynthia Morote-Ariza split the Jayhawks’ defense. Morote-Ariza fought through two tackles and slipped the ball through to midfielder Jackie Vera who beat junior goalkeeper Julie Hanley from 10 yards.
With temperatures falling after halftime, Kansas pushed for an equalizer but Loyola made the best of its limited opportunities once again. Free to survey her options, Vera found midfielder Laura Trevillian unmarked at the back post in the 65th minute where the sophomore guided a diving header past Hanley.
Francis said he was disappointed with the way his defense was positioned on both goals, but also said he wasn’t particularly unhappy with the way his team competed either.
“Credit to (Loyola),” Francis said. “They had two good chances and they scored them both.”
Despite playing with a brisk wind behind its back for the second half, Kansas was content to send hopeful long balls forward — a strategy Francis said he warned his players about at halftime to no avail.
“We were hammering the crap out of the ball going forward,” Francis said of his team’s reliance on hopeful balls behind the defense. “We might as well have shot it, hitting it that hard and trying to play it through.”
Though Kansas was spinning its wheels in the run of play, Dolinksy snatched a goal back in the 80th minute when she converted a penalty kick for her fourth goal of the season. But that was all the Jayhawks could muster, and the Ramblers held on for a surprising road victory.
“We hate this feeling,” Hanley said of the sting of defeat. “It’s the first time we have had to deal with it this year. It may help us knowing we don’t want to feel like this anymore.”
Dolinsky leads
Kansas past Missouri State
Despite ending the weekend on a low note, Kansas picked up its fifth non-conference victory 4-1 on Friday against Missouri State.
Junior midfielder Monica Dolinsky scored and added an assist, and three other Jayhawks recorded their first goals of 2008. Sophomore defenders Lauren Jackson and Katie Williams and junior forward Shannon McCabe scored in the first half for Kansas.
— — Edited by Arthur Hur
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