Weber State University Athletics
Thursday, August 19
Manhattan, KS
6:00 p.m. MT
Weber State University
1-0-0, 0-0-0
2
at
0
Kansas State
0-1-0, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weber St. | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Kansas St. | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Photo by: Kansas State Athletics
Wildcats Beat K-State 2-0 In Opener
8/20/2021 5:30:00 AM | Athletics, Women's Soccer
The first meeting between the two teams results in a WSU victory
On Thursday night, the Weber State Wildcats kicked their season off with an empathic 2-0 win on the road against Kansas State.Â
Coming into the matchup there was a lack of familiarity in the air because despite both WSU and K-State don the color purple and are referred to as Wildcats, the two teams had never come face-to-face until last night's meeting in front of 1,566 fans who were packed into the stands of the Buser Family Field.Â
As the season kicked off, a party had begun for K-State fans who were oozing with confidence as heard through their noise level on the ESPN+ broadcast. Their Wildcats played in the Big 12, there was not a chance that they believed the Big Sky's Wildcats were a worthy opponnet and early in the game Kansas State was feeding off that energy in the field. They looked poisted to strike at any moment while WSU struggled to establish any offense.Â
Then Weber State began to spoil the party.Â
As the WSU defense held sturdy, the cheers began to damper and K-State's moment lessened along with it, then at the tail end of the 30th minute, Brynlee Meyerhoffer showed off her passing ability by gifting Lauren McConnell with a scoring chance, tapping a pass through a gap of K-State defenders and into the runway of the goal-hungry McConnell. McConnell took the pass and whipped a shot over the outstretched hands of the Kansas State keeper to give the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage and their first goal of the season.
Â
Suddenly, it was Wildcats out of Ogden that had all of the momentum.Â
With the only cheers in the staidum coming from their own sideline, WSU began to feed off the shift in power and enhanced their aggression on offense. There were moments when it looked like they'd tack more points onto the scoreboard, especially when Lily Webster and her gazelle-like strides would push the ball deep into Kansas State territory and attempt to fire off a shot or set up her teammates.
While WSU's offensive focus was ascending, there defensive tenacity remained in tact. They were playing faster, being more physical and forcing the action more than K-State was and it allowed momentum to continue to teeter their way. However, despite how hard they were playing defensively there still were moments when Kansas State would find a hole and knock in the equalizer, but Kaytlin Bradley remained calm and kept them off the board over, and over again.Â
Throughout the night, Kansas State launched seven shots on goal but Bradley handled each attempt in route to seven saves and a shutout. Last night she reached the second-highest mark of  in saves in a game, with her career-high came in a eight save effort against Boise State in 2019.Â
After the half when WSU came running back on the field, they not only looked poised, but they seemed to still be feeling that wave of momentum that they caught towards the end of the first half. That wave would eventually force K-State to open the floodgates after the Wildcats struck again at the start of the 61st minute. This score came after Yira Yoggerst sent a cornerkick into the catacombs of the K-State defense where Amy Kenny knocked a header into the air and then Morgan Furmaniak sent a header towards the goal, sliding in to finish the job was Gentrey Gibson who flicked a shot over K-State's keeper with the tip of her cleat to give the Wildcats a commanding 2-0 lead.
Â
From that point on the Wildcats continued to attack on the offensive end instead of electing to play conservative which kept pressure on the Kansas State defense, in turn, not allowing them to tee desperation shots off at Bradley who notched her second career shutout once the clock struck zero and the final horn rang.
In the end, Weber State left the clash of Wildcats with bragging rights after a dominant 2-0 victory over Kansas State on the road.
The Wildcats will be leaving the Sunflower State with a 1-0 record and will return to the Beehive State making preparations for their home opener at Wildcat Stadium against Utah Valley on Aug. 26 at 7 P.M. MT
Coming into the matchup there was a lack of familiarity in the air because despite both WSU and K-State don the color purple and are referred to as Wildcats, the two teams had never come face-to-face until last night's meeting in front of 1,566 fans who were packed into the stands of the Buser Family Field.Â
As the season kicked off, a party had begun for K-State fans who were oozing with confidence as heard through their noise level on the ESPN+ broadcast. Their Wildcats played in the Big 12, there was not a chance that they believed the Big Sky's Wildcats were a worthy opponnet and early in the game Kansas State was feeding off that energy in the field. They looked poisted to strike at any moment while WSU struggled to establish any offense.Â
Then Weber State began to spoil the party.Â
As the WSU defense held sturdy, the cheers began to damper and K-State's moment lessened along with it, then at the tail end of the 30th minute, Brynlee Meyerhoffer showed off her passing ability by gifting Lauren McConnell with a scoring chance, tapping a pass through a gap of K-State defenders and into the runway of the goal-hungry McConnell. McConnell took the pass and whipped a shot over the outstretched hands of the Kansas State keeper to give the Wildcats a 1-0 advantage and their first goal of the season.
Â
?? is BACK ??@wsusoccer leads Kansas State 1-0 at the half!#ExperienceElevated
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) August 20, 2021
pic.twitter.com/w4RWHL8z0r
Suddenly, it was Wildcats out of Ogden that had all of the momentum.Â
With the only cheers in the staidum coming from their own sideline, WSU began to feed off the shift in power and enhanced their aggression on offense. There were moments when it looked like they'd tack more points onto the scoreboard, especially when Lily Webster and her gazelle-like strides would push the ball deep into Kansas State territory and attempt to fire off a shot or set up her teammates.
While WSU's offensive focus was ascending, there defensive tenacity remained in tact. They were playing faster, being more physical and forcing the action more than K-State was and it allowed momentum to continue to teeter their way. However, despite how hard they were playing defensively there still were moments when Kansas State would find a hole and knock in the equalizer, but Kaytlin Bradley remained calm and kept them off the board over, and over again.Â
Throughout the night, Kansas State launched seven shots on goal but Bradley handled each attempt in route to seven saves and a shutout. Last night she reached the second-highest mark of  in saves in a game, with her career-high came in a eight save effort against Boise State in 2019.Â
After the half when WSU came running back on the field, they not only looked poised, but they seemed to still be feeling that wave of momentum that they caught towards the end of the first half. That wave would eventually force K-State to open the floodgates after the Wildcats struck again at the start of the 61st minute. This score came after Yira Yoggerst sent a cornerkick into the catacombs of the K-State defense where Amy Kenny knocked a header into the air and then Morgan Furmaniak sent a header towards the goal, sliding in to finish the job was Gentrey Gibson who flicked a shot over K-State's keeper with the tip of her cleat to give the Wildcats a commanding 2-0 lead.
Â
Good things are happening at Kansas State… ?? @wsusoccer goes up 2-0 on the road!!
— Big Sky Conference (@BigSkyConf) August 20, 2021
?? https://t.co/W6KxbEiiIi#ExperienceElevated pic.twitter.com/zoscGG5NGM
From that point on the Wildcats continued to attack on the offensive end instead of electing to play conservative which kept pressure on the Kansas State defense, in turn, not allowing them to tee desperation shots off at Bradley who notched her second career shutout once the clock struck zero and the final horn rang.
In the end, Weber State left the clash of Wildcats with bragging rights after a dominant 2-0 victory over Kansas State on the road.
The Wildcats will be leaving the Sunflower State with a 1-0 record and will return to the Beehive State making preparations for their home opener at Wildcat Stadium against Utah Valley on Aug. 26 at 7 P.M. MT
Team Stats
Weber
KState
Goals
2
0
Shots
14
20
Shots on Goal
5
7
Saves
7
3
Corners
2
6
Fouls
8
6
Scoring Plays
Lauren McConnell (1)
Assisted By: Brynlee Meyerhoffer
GOAL by Weber McConnell, Lauren Assist by Meyerhoffer, Brynlee.
30:47
Morgan Furmaniak (1)
Assisted By: Amy Kenney
GOAL by Weber Furmaniak, Morgan Assist by Kenney, Amy.
61:05
Game Leaders
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
def
Shots
0
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
D/F
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's SoccerD/MF
/ Women's SoccerMF
/ Women's Soccer
MF
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