By Kansas Athletics
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KUAthletics.com) – The Kansas Jayhawks opened their 2024 home schedule with a 2-2 draw to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Thursday night at Rock Chalk Park. Freshman Jillian Gregorski and senior Raena Knust scored the goals for the Jayhawks.
“Hopefully it was a good game for the fans with some back and forth and a few goals,” head coach Nate Lie said. “Credit to Tulsa. It felt like we had them on the ropes for a decent amount of the game, but they kept fighting and scrapping. They were very dangerous on corners and set pieces and were very opportunistic. I mean, we are disappointed. I told the team I guess it’s a good sign when we are upset with a tie.”
Lie continued, “I don’t want them to walk away and talk about the stats because in the end the one that matters is the goals. I think we had a chance to put this game away early. I think we could have been up two or three goals…we need games like this. We need games that come down to the last few minutes – up a goal, down a goal, tied – we have to learn how to manage games better and hopefully we get the lessons we need out of it.”
Kansas controlled much of the game and outshot Tulsa 30-6 in the match, with 13 of those shots being on target compared to only one for the Golden Hurricane. Despite the advantage, the match ultimately ended in a draw.
Kansas had numerous opportunities in the first half, which included outshooting the Golden Hurricane 12-2. However, Tulsa opened the scoring in the 43rd minute as a result of a Kansas own-goal. Kansas entered the break trailing 1-0.
The Jayhawks would answer quickly in the second half. In the 49th minute, Gregorski scored her second goal as a Jayhawk from the middle of the box on a cross from redshirt sophomore Sage Wimes, who finished with two assists.
“I think coming out of halftime we knew we needed to put them on their heels and back foot,” Gregorski said. “I saw Saige and she had a beautiful cross and I just finished it. That really helped our team’s momentum.”
Kansas took the lead in the 68th minute when Raena Knust converted off of another cross by Wimes. The go-ahead goal marked Knust’s first goal of the season and the eighth of her career.
Despite only tallying four shots in the second half, Tulsa was able to find an equalizer in the 78th minute on a goal from sophomore Leah Diaz. The late tally marked the only shot on target that the Golden Hurricane recorded all match.
NOTES
• Kansas is now 16-10-4 all-time in home openers and 4-4-3 at Rock Chalk Park.
• Kansas tallied 30 shots as a team in the match. That is the most since 31 shots at Western Michigan on Sept. 15, 2019.
• Gregorski leads the team with two goals and five points this season.
• Wimes had her first career multi-assist match
• Lexi Watts finished the match with a career-high seven shots. She leads the team with 15 shots this season. She has tallied four or more shots in every match this year.
UP NEXT
Kansas will hit the road for its next match at Ivy League opponent Brown on Monday, August 26. Kickoff from Stevenson-Pincince Field in Providence, Rhode Island is set for 12 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
