DES MOINES, Iowa – The Kansas Jayhawks improved their season record to 2-0 after Kansas defeated Drake 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at Mediacom Stadium. Redshirt Junior Emika Kawagishi scored her first goal as a Jayhawk in the 43rd minute and Redshirt Freshman Sophie Dawe recorded her first career shutout.
“One thing to be proud of for sure is limiting a conference champion to one shot the entire game on their home field in a game they were probably pretty hot to play,” head coach Nate Lie said. “Kudos to coach Lindsey (Horner), a proud KU alum. Her team battled, organized themselves really well and did some beautiful, complex things in their buildup that caused us some problems. Kudos to (our) team, they responded.”
Lie continued, “I don’t think we were very focused in front of goal today. We had two or three clear counterattacks that we couldn’t capitalize on, but we were able to score, which is pretty common in the college game… that moment changed the game. We ask our players to find those special moments, and congratulations to Emika, congratulations to Sophie on a shutout, and congratulations to the defense for limiting the chances.”
Kansas (2-0) was relentless in the first half, with the Jayhawks outscoring the opposition 9-0 in shots, including 4-0 in shots on goal. The first eight shots went wide, but the ninth shot finally found the back of the net.
When time was running out in the first half, Olivia Page crossed a ball into the box that eventually found Kawagishi, who did not leave a clearance attempt by Drake. Kawagishi put the shot into the bottom left corner of the net. This gave Kansas a 1-0 lead at halftime and was the decisive goal after a scoreless second half.
“I practiced this goal,” Kawagishi said. “At that moment, I had the confidence and knew I could do it. So I’m glad I did it.”
Kansas’ defense limited Drake to just one shot in the game. KU finished the game with a 13-1 advantage in shots and a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal. Kansas also had a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks.
“It’s really exciting,” Dawe said of the shutout. “I have to give a lot of credit to my defense. We had one shot on goal. They did all the work and made my job so much easier.”
NOTES
• Kansas started the season 2-0 for the first time since 2020.
• Kansas recorded its first clean sheet win since August 31, 2023 against Arkansas State.
• Kansas improved its record against Drake to 4-0-1 overall.
• Kawagishi scored her first career goal as a Jayhawk.
• Dawe had her first career shutout in her second college game.
Next
Kansas will play its first home game on Thursday, August 22, against Tulsa at Rock Chalk Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Tickets can be purchased here or by calling the Kansas Ticket Office at 785-864-3141. Tickets will also be available at the box office at Rock Chalk Park beginning one hour prior to game time.
