Kansas City
9-3-4, 1-2-2
Utah Valley
8-7-1, 3-2-0
Women's Soccer Racks Up 100th Program Victory vs. Utah Valley
10/20/2019 3:34:00 PM | Women's Soccer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Women's Soccer team had been stuck searching for its 100th win in program history for the past three weeks, ever since closing out non-conference play with a win against South Dakota. The start of Western Athletic Conference play has been shaky for the Roos, but it looked as if they may have found some holding in the second half against Utah Valley on Sunday afternoon, pulling out a 1-0 victory. The win pushes Kansas City to the century mark, the program's 100th win in 219 matches.
"I'm really excited for the team, and the program as a whole," Head Coach Chris Cissell said. "It's a great milestone."
The first half was filled with slow play and was a battle for possession. Neither team could find its offense, and Kansas City could only manage one shot for the entirety of the first 45 minutes. The Roo defense held true though, holding UVU to just four shots, none of which were on goal.
"The first half by both teams was pretty ugly," Cissell said. "I think it was one of the first halves I've seen where neither team actually had a shot on goal."
The Roos looked to press offensively immediately in the second half. Within the first 60 seconds, they drew a foul just outside of the box. Amanda Sampson lined up to take the free kick, sending Kansas City's first shot on target. The Wolverines' Allie Jara made a leaping save, but the ball ricocheted out of bounds for a Roo corner kick.Â
"I thought we made some good adjustments at halftime. We got into the girls at half and really challenged them," Cissell said.
Sampson made her way over to the corner, Kansas City's first of the game. She sent the ball into the box, finding the head of a rising Liz Mann. Mann targeted the lower right corner, burning Jara and finding the back of the net for the only goal of the day.
"It felt really good to score," Mann said. "But it was a really good team performance. We worked hard to defend as a team in the last minutes."
The rest of the second half was a flurry of shots, with each team managing 10. The Wolverines could only put two shots on goal, however, both by Julianna Carter. Erin Roth was there to make the save on both, posting her fifth clean sheet of the year.
"It was one of those games that you really just had to grit it out and play with determination," Cissell said. "Utah Valley's a great team … we knew it was going to be a really tough match."
With the victory, the Roos find their way into the win column in WAC play, moving them within a point of CSU Bakersfield and Grand Canyon. They will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. on Thursday to take on New Mexico State with a chance to continue moving up in the conference standings.
100th Win Notes
- The Roos first ever win came on Oct. 16, 2009 against Southern Utah under Head Coach Anita Rodriguez.
- Head Coach Chris Cissell has been at the helm for 98 of the program's 100 wins, starting in 2011.
- The victory moves the program to 100-94-25 all time for a win percentage of .514.
Team Stats
Liz Mann (1)
Assisted By: Amanda Sampson
Header off corner from #5
46:04
