McLaughlin's Wonder Goal Leads Roos over Tommies

Sunday, October 24

Kansas City, Mo.

1:00 PM

Kansas City

6-12-0, 4-4-0

St. Thomas

3-11-1, 1-6-0

Team	1	2	Final F
St. Thomas (MN)	0	1	1
Kansas City	1	1	2

McLaughlin's Wonder Goal Leads Roos over Tommies

10/24/2021 4:26:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score

Morgan McLaughlin scored directly from a corner in the 80th minute to give the Roos an edge

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Women's Soccer used a late-game lightning delay to its advantage this afternoon, scoring the game-winner in the 80th minute to earn three points against St. Thomas, 2-1. The Roos used two set pieces to earn their goals, the first a Kassi Ginther header from Sophia Limongi, and the second a direct kick from Morgan McLaughlin into the Tommies' goal.

KEY MOMENTS

4' | Kassi Ginther looked to get the action started early with a shot attempt that the UST goalkeeper had to dive to stop.
6' | St. Thomas looked to create some action of their own off a corner kick, but Mackenzie Caldwell was there to keep them out of the goal with a diving save.
18' | Kansas City was the first to reach the scoreboard as Limongi sent a corner kick into the box, while Ginther rose above the crowd and deflected it into the back of the net.
34' | Bela Gonzalez looked to create some more action for the Roos, launching a rocket that was blocked by the St. Thomas keeper.
44' | St. Thomas looked to equalize the game with a shot towards the net, but Caldwell was there to stop their chance.
47' | The Tommies struck quickly in the second half, equalizing on a shot from the edge of the box.
52' | Ginther looked to give the Roos a lead with another shot attempt, but it was just too high to the right.
54' | Lillie Fields with a tackle to keep St. Thomas at bay and gave the Roos a chance to generate some action.
57' | Looking for another opportunity to extend the Roos' lead, Sam Marek put a shot towards the net, but the UST keeper was there to stop it once more.
60' | St. Thomas tried to take the lead directly after the weather delay, but Caldwell made a diving save to keep the ball out of net.
72' | After a ball in the box rolled out to her, Limongi launched a shot from 30 yards out that was corralled by the Tommies' keeper.
80' | Morgan McLaughlin took a corner kick from the left side of the field that, with the help of gusting winds, curved above the outstretched arms of the UST keeper and broke the goal plane for the game-winner.

STATS TO NOTE

Sarah Karloff earned her first start of the year, playing 30 minutes total.
Ginther's goal was her team-leading sixth of the year, tied for the sixth-most in the Summit League.
McLaughlin's goal was the first of her junior campaign, the third of her career. It was her second-ever game-winner, the first coming against Western Illinois last season.
Lily Hollis played the full 90 minutes as the Roos' center back, a season-high by 40 minutes.
Ginther ended the day with six shots, one shy of her season-high.
Caldwell finished the day with eight saves for the Roos.

COACH JESS SMITH, QUOTED

"I told the girls at the end of the game that it wasn't our best-quality match, but we found a way to win, and at the end of the season you have to do that. I'm proud of the team for sticking to the game plan, I thought in the last 30 minutes we really created a lot of chances so I'm proud of their mentality."
"(The lightning delay) was a fresh start for us. We changed some personnel into different positions; Anna Jennings came in and really changed the game for us at the 10, we put Kassi at the nine and that really helped us. I think we started playing more our game."
"We have to stay focused on the task at hand and not get ahead of ourselves. We need to play our game and I think things will fall into place for us. We have to bring that mentality all week and prepare for the weekend, taking it one day at a time."

UP NEXT
The Roos will close out the regular season with a home game against Oral Roberts next Saturday at 1 p.m. KC currently sits tied for third in the Summit League with South Dakota and Omaha.