Kansas did not need much time to warm up to make its mark in Friday’s match against the Pepperdine Waves. The Jayhawks scored a goal early in each half and held on in the last 14 minutes for a 2-1 victory.

Coach Mark Francis was happy his team won, but didn’t think it was its best effort, saying the win wasn’t “particularly pretty.”

But he couldn’t have been upset with how the match started.

Senior forward Shannon McCabe put Kansas on the board in the fourth minute after she settled a pass from sophomore forward Emily Cressy and buried a tough shot past the far post.

The Jayhawks kept up the attack for the next 20 minutes with numerous shots from senior midfielder Monica Dolinsky and freshman midfielder Whitney Berry.

However, Pepperdine did not back down. It outshot Kansas 9 to 8 in the first half, and freshman Kat Liebetrau had to make a couple of key saves to keep the Jayhawks ahead at the break.

Then, in the 54th minute, Cressy settled a cross from Dolinsky and scored her first goal of the season. It turned out to be a much needed insurance goal because it wasn’t long before Pepperdine responded.

After Cressy’s goal, Pepperdine peppered shots at the goal, hitting the same post twice and forcing Liebetrau to make more key saves. In the 76th minute, Pepperdine senior Kelly Reilly launched a 25-yard strike that nailed the crossbar. Senior Michelle Spacciapolli finished the rebound to cut Kansas’ lead in half.

With a draw looming under Pepperdine’s relentless attack, Kansas’ defense needed to hold for just under 15 minutes.

Dolinsky said the defense had to adjust, so they started simply clearing in the ball instead of trying to find the feet of a teammate. This allowed Pepperdine to maintain possession longer, but forced the opposition to be perfect to score a goal.

“We kept the ball better when they were pressing us, so we’re learning,” Dolinsky said.

Francis said the defense really buckled down to stop the Waves’ attack. Pepperdine’s more direct approach led to longer passes over the top of the defense.

“We did a really good job defending balls in the air,” Francis said.

With the victory secured, Francis said he was proud of how his players stepped up at the right time.

“I think this group has that kind of heart,” Francis said.

- - -

Kansas couldn’t seem to get a shot off that wasn’t blocked by the Arizona State defense, goalkeeper or a goalpost, so it had to be the Sun Devils own defense that gave the Jayhawks a 1-0 victory against the Sun Devils on Sunday.

Senior Monica Dolinsky led Kansas with four shots on goal in a victory that put Kansas soccer at 3-0 to start the season.

The team had a notable absence in senior forward Shannon McCabe, who sat out with an injury. Coach Mark Francis said they didn’t know how long McCabe would be out, but for Sunday’s game it meant some tinkering with positions and formations.

“We had a few injuries. We had to move some people around, but I thought our heart and intensity was really good,” Francis said. “That’ll take us a lot further than just talent.”

McCabe’s injury meant that the rest of the team needed to step up and fill the gap left by the senior leader, and that’s exactly what happened.

“It allows other players to step up and show us what they have,” said Dolinsky of McCabe’s absence. “If anything, we used Shannon as motivation and played for her today.”

The Jayhawks came out firing and had five shots in the first 11 minutes of the game. After the first half ended scoreless, Kansas had outshot Arizona State 11-4 and Arizona State goalkeeper Briana Silvestre had to make five saves to keep it equal.

The pressure finally paid off for Kansas in the 55th minute, when a cross from freshman Shelby Williamson bounced off an Arizona State defender and into the back of the net. From there on out, the Jayhawks relied on their defense to seal the victory. Kat Liebetrau made five saves on the game to earn her second shutout of the season.

“We played much better soccer today than we did on Friday,” Francis said.

Sunday’s victory and the victory over Pepperdine on Friday gives the Jayhawks the Lady Vol Invite title, the team’s first regular season tournament title since 2006.

“(Winning the tournament) gives us a lot of confidence, especially with the caliber of teams that were here,” Dolinsky said. “Winning both games on the road is a big step for us.”

With the Lady Vol Invite over, the team returns to Lawrence to face Long Beach State on Friday in its home opener.

— — Edited by Amanda Thompson and Alicia Banister