MANHATTAN – On a cold and blustery night with a bid for the Big 12 Soccer Championship on the line, K-State was unable grab the win in the finale as Iowa State downed the Wildcats, 1-0, on Thursday night at Buser Family Park.
With a win and a loss or draw by in-state rival Kansas, K-State would have qualified for its first-ever appearance in the Big 12 Soccer Championship.
“I felt like, with the wind, we should have been a lot more urgent, and a lot more, imposing,” said K-State head coach Mike Dibbini. “I think the moment was just little a too much for them right now. This was our first match where we were playing for something, and you can see that they were frozen like ‘hey ladies we have a match right now, can we start moving?’ I think the biggest take away from this game, is what I just said we learned from playing a match that meant something and got us an opportunity to get us somewhere.”
With sustained winds out of the north at 20 miles per hour and gusting to 35, K-State (6-10-2, 1-6-2 Big 12) took the advantage in the first 45 minutes with the wind at their backs. The Wildcats collected three shots on goal, including two threatening chances from freshman Adah Anderson and one from junior Bailey Nemechek. However, the Wildcats were unable to net a go-ahead tally.
Iowa State (5-11-0, 2-6-0 Big 12) had the wind at their backs for the next 45 minutes and capitalized in the 53rd minute. Kenady Adams crossed the ball towards the K-State frame from the left side of the field. Anna Lindgren caught just enough of the pass to redirect the chance into the goal for the eventual game-winner.
K-State had one final chance in the final seconds. Junior Aliyah El-Naggar was left along at the top of the 18-yard box. Her right-footed shot toward the lower left corner was saved just as time expired.
Dibbini liked how his team attacked going into the wind, despite not registering a game-tying effort.
“I felt like we had more urgency. We were playing more desperate, more numbers up, but that wind was just brutal and it could not settle down for us. I think it got more brutal in the second half, to be honest. It’s unfortunate but there’s a lot we can learn from this game
The Wildcats finished the night with a 13-12 edge in total shots, however the Cyclones held a 9-5 lead in shots on goal. Iowa State also held the advantage in corner kicks, 6-2. With the win and a loss by Kansas against Texas on Thursday night, Iowa State secured the eight-seed in the 2021 Big 12 Soccer Championship.
In a post-match ceremony, K-State honored four seniors: Emily Crain, Brookelynn Entz, Taylor Gardner and Maguire Sullivan. Entz is proud with the legacy she left for players to follow going forward.
“I just hope I’ve done everything I can, to build this program. I want to come back in the years to come and I want to see this program fighting for championships, Big 12 championships. Obviously it has been a goal of mine for the last 5 years, to make it to the Big 12 tournament, and I didn’t get to get there, so I hope that I can follow the next generation to do that.”
Entz finished her K-State career as the owner of 28 school records including career goals (19), career assists (13) and career points (51).
K-State concluded its sixth season of action by tying the school record for wins in a season with six. The Wildcats also established new school records for goals in a season (20), assists in a season (20) and points in a season (60).
The leading goal scorer for K-State in the 2021 season was junior Marisa Weichel with six goals followed by junior Kyler Goins with four.
– kstatesports.com –