The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
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Kansas
Soccer drops hard-fought 2-1 decision at Kansas
10.23.2005 | Soccer
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- KU's Kim Karfonta scored with just over three minutes left in regulation to snap a 1-1 tie as the Longhorns lost a tough 2-1 match to Kansas in front of 561 fans at Super Target Field on Sunday, Oct. 23.
While the Jayhawks' (10-6-2, 5-3-1 Big 12) win snapped the Longhorns (9-7-1, 6-4-0 Big 12) season-best, four-game winning streak, it also moved UT into second place in the Big 12 standings behind Texas A&M.
Both teams played to a 0-0 tie in the first half despite Kansas holding a slim 8-6 advantage in shots for the period as the defenses and goalkeepers Julie Hanley for KU and Dianna Pfenninger (Sugar Land, Texas) for UT held the respective offenses in check for the first 45 minutes. In the second half, the Jayhawks broke on top 1-0 in the 57th minute as Afton Sauer found the back of the Texas net off a rebound from a Caroline Smith shot set up by Jessica Bush. Just less than 14 minutes later at 70:09, the Longhorns knotted the game at 1-1 as Caitlin Kennedy (Euless, Texas) slotted a pass behind the Kansas defense to Ashley Foster (Athens, Ga.), who beat Hanley with a shot from just outside the penalty area. In the 87th minute, Smith found Karfonta with a pass inside the Texas 18-yard box. With her back to the goal, Karfonta then turned on Texas defender Karen Haight (Beaverton, Ore.) and knocked her to the ground. However, a foul was not called and Karfonta managed to lace a shot past Pfenninger to give the Jayhawks a 2-1 advantage.
Trailing for the second time in the match, the Horns looked for the equalizer in the final minutes, but Hanley and the Kansas defense dug in and preserved the one-goal victory. Hanley, who made five saves on the afternoon, earned the win for KU, while Pfenninger, who posted six stops over the 90-minute contest, shouldered the loss.
"We played hard throughout the entire match this afternoon," UT head coach Chris Petrucelli said. "Considering how banged up we are, I am very proud of the team's effort today. We were in the game right until the end and were unlucky to not earn at least a point. Still, the bottom line in the match was that we needed to create more chances up front in order to give us a better opportunity to win. The biggest thing for our club right now is to get healthy before our next match and, more importantly, before the Big 12 Tournament."
Paving the way for the Texas attack on the afternoon was Foster, who notched her third goal of the year while firing a team-best four shots during the match, and Kennedy, who picked up her 12th point in the last eight games with an assist. Meanwhile, the KU offense, which outshot the Horns by a 20-10 margin for the match, was led by Smith, who turned in a two-point afternoon by assisting on both Jayhawks goals, and Michelle Rasmussen, who fired a match-high six shots.
The Longhorns now return home to Myers Stadium to conclude the 2005 regular season with a 7 p.m. Central match against Dayton on Friday, Oct. 28.
