A weekend of triumph followed by confusion resulted in the Kansas soccer team taking an early trip to San Antonio to play an unprecedented play-in game today for a Big 12 Tournament berth.

After an unforgettable 3-2 victory against No. 20 Missouri Friday on Senior Day, Kansas (12-7-1, 4-6 Big 12) ended in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big 12 Conference standings with Baylor (8-5-5, 3-4-3 Big 12) and Texas Tech (8-8-3, 3-4-3 Big 12). Only two teams could advance to the tournament and the conference announced that Baylor and Kansas would advance because of a four-step tiebreaker.

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Kansas Soccer vs. Missouri

Kansas played Missouri on Oct. 30, 2009. The Jayhawks won the game 3-2.

But Saturday afternoon the Big 12 reconsidered that ruling, saying in a statement that the rule to break the three-way tie was “open to interpretation and can be applied in different ways.” So it ruled that Kansas and Texas Tech would participate in a play-in game Monday night in San Antonio to decide who would receive the eighth and final spot in the tournament. This is the first time such a play-in match has been used to determine entrance into the Big 12 Tournament.

Coach Mark Francis said he thought his team had been eliminated after Friday’s results. According to Francis, the conference’s initial decision was based on a misinterpretation of “goal differential,” or the difference between the amount of goals a team scores and allows. The Big 12 only counted goals in games between the three teams in their initial ruling, whereas Texas Tech appealed that the goal differential should apply to the entire season.

“We shouldn’t be playing right now,” Francis said. “If they’d applied the goal differential properly, we would have been out. They made a mistake, and because of their mistake, we’re still playing.”

The ruling meant the Jayhawks had to leave for San Antonio early Sunday morning to prepare for today’s game. Francis said his team handled the quick turn-around fine and was excited to still be playing.

Today’s game will be a rematch of an Oct. 9 match that Kansas won 3-2 in Lawrence. Texas Tech is coming off a 200-minute scoreless streak against Big 12 powers Colorado and Texas A&M, while Kansas has won its last two games with Friday’s victory and last Sunday’s victory against last-place Iowa State.

Looking back

The confusion about the tournament overshadowed Friday’s gritty and memorable Senior Day upset against Missouri.

Kansas couldn’t have gotten off to much of a worse start to what was clearly a must-win game for the team. Before the match even began, senior forward Shannon McCabe reinjured her knee in pregame warm-ups and couldn’t play in her last home game. Then, just 51 seconds after kickoff, the Tigers scored before the Jayhawks could get possession of the ball. Missouri junior Alysha Bonnick finished a cross with one touch inside a crowded penalty area to put Kansas down 0-1 early. Francis said McCabe’s injury affected the team’s mindset.

“I think the girls were a little bit shell-shocked after that,” he said. “Maybe that’s why we were in such a daze at the beginning. I think we were still on the sideline feeling sorry for ourselves.”

But the Jayhawks gathered themselves and responded in the 23rd minute. Sophomore forward Emily Cressy ran onto a well-placed passed from senior midfielder Monica Dolinsky and placed a shot past the goalkeeper at the near post.

Kansas kept its momentum going in the 38th minute when freshman midfielder Shelby Williamson dribbled through the midfield and hit a left-footed shot into the low corner of the net for a 2-1 Kansas lead that the team carried into halftime. It was the first time Missouri had trailed at the break since Oct. 2 against Texas.

During the second half, the game reached a frantic pace of play and referees struggled to control the intense physicality from both teams. In the second half alone, five yellow cards and 19 fouls were awarded to both teams. It was obvious that emotions were running high in a rivalry game that had Kansas’ playoff hopes and Missouri’s undefeated season on the line.

“Every time we play Missouri our emotions are high, but especially so for the seniors this year,” senior defender Estelle Johnson said.

In the 76th minute, Cressy came through again for the Jayhawks as she scored her 11th goal of the season to give her team a 3-1 cushion. Johnson’s free kick from midfield bounced around the penalty area before Cressy collected it in traffic and placed it in the net.

“It was probably one of the best goals I’ve scored in my entire life,” Cressy said.

It also turned out to be an important one, as Missouri narrowed the lead six minutes later when Missouri senior Michelle Collins scored off of a rebound from Kansas goalkeeper Kat Liebetrau.

Kansas desperately clung to the lead in the last seven minutes, packing in their own half and blocking Missouri’s last efforts. The final whistle blew, and the Kansas bench rushed onto the field to celebrate defeating the top team in the Big 12 and keeping their postseason hopes alive.

“I think these are the types of games that you play for,” Johnson said. “These are the games that you remember forever.”

— Edited by Amanda Thompson