The No. 2-seed West Virginia Mountaineers fell to the No. 7-seed Kansas Jayhawks, 4-0, on Monday in the opening round of the 2025 Big 12 Soccer Tournament. Read more: WVU Women’s Soccer shocked by lower-seeded Kansas in Big 12 tournament
Kansas dominated the final 45 in pursuit of an upset that eventually came to fruition against a Mountaineer squad that was unbeaten for over two months.
WVU was outshot 22-7 in total shots and 14-2 on goal. The Jayhawks piled on a trifecta of second-half goals, overwhelming star goalkeeper Bailey Herfurth. She still finished with 10 saves.
First half
The first 32 minutes of action were nothing short of a defensive masterclass for both the Mountaineers and Jayhawks. That all changed when miscommunication and an overloaded penalty box led to a Kansas goal in the 33rd minute.
Jocelyn Herrema, a junior Jayhawk forward, found the back of the net, thanks to an assist from Lexi Watts. The tie-breaking tally was the Michigan native’s first goal of the year and Watts’ third assist.
Related: EDITORIAL: Ode to an upset
Bailey Herfurth was preoccupied stopping another goal and was unable to readjust, barely missing the ball. West Virginia defenders appeared to be visibly shaken by the untimely goal, but over half the match remained.
Kansas nurtured the 1-0 lead going into halftime. WVU and KU were dead-even through 45 minutes in shots (5), saves (2), and corners (1). The Mountaineers had their work cut out for them as the teams entered the locker rooms at the break.
Second half
WVU got beat by its own craft in the back half of the match. Kansas outshot No. 19-ranked WVU 12-0 through the first 3o minutes of the second half. The Mountaineers came into the first-round showdown outshooting its opponents 265-132, a standard that was simply absent in the half.
Matters for West Virginia went from bad to worse in the 77th minute when Kate Langfelder doubled the Kansas lead. Assists from Lydia Viets and Faith Johnston made the play possible for the Jayhawks’ offensive attack.
Kansas put in the dagger in the 84th minute with a suffocating offensive shift, resulting in a Mackenzie Hammontree goal. The score resulted in Hammontree’s first points of the year, but the Jayhawks were not done.
Lexi Watts poured salt in the wound 49 seconds with the fourth and final Kansas goal. That tally all but sealed the deal on the second upset in the opening round of the tourney.
What’s next?
The early exit for the No. 2-seeded Mountaineers was an unexpected one. It came on the same night that the top-seeded TCU Horned Frogs fell in PKs. The Big 12 tournament title remains up for grabs until the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 8.
As for West Virginia, the Mountaineers will regroup and prepare for a NCAA Tournament run. Head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown and her program are no strangers to the postseason. They will have a chance to bounce back on the national stage, with seeding and an opponent unknown as of now.
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