LAWRENCE, Kan. — BYU women’s soccer scored twice in the first half and posted eight shots on goal in a 2-2 tie with Kansas on Thursday night at Rock Chalk Park.
The Cougars (5-5-4, 3-2-2) outshot the Jayhawks 14-12, including 8-4 in shots on goal while forcing six Kansas saves.
Erin Bailey and Mackenzee Vance each recorded first half goals for BYU. Bailey put up four shots on the night, with two on goal. Vance attacked at an efficient clip of one goal on two shots, both of which came on goal.
Allie Fryer and Avery Frischknecht added three shots apiece while Cougar keeper Lynette Hernaez recorded three saves.
First Half
Kansas went on the attack right out of the gate and got off five early shots beginning in the fourth minute. The BYU defense kept the Jayhawks off the board through the early onslaught with Hernaez notching a save as she pushed a Kansas shot out over the top.
Hernaez came up big in the box again in the 11th minute. The BYU keeper knocked a Kansas corner kick off target, then sifted through a traffic jam of Jayhawks to collect the ball and set up the goal kick.
The Cougars found their offense in the 13th minute with Fryer posting BYU’s first shot of the night. Fryer’s shot was saved but BYU returned to the attacking third in the 23rd minute and got on the scoreboard with a goal by Bailey. The Cougars earned their first corner of the night with Bailey probing the Kansas defenses. Frischknecht came up with ball off the Lucy Kesler corner kick, fired it into the box and Bailey put on the finishing touch for the 1-0 BYU lead.
In an abrupt turn of events, Kansas scored seconds later on a mishandled pass between Cougar defenders. The Jayhawk score tied the game 1-1 in the 23rd.
BYU took 2-1 lead in the 30th with Vance weaving through defenders and rocketing the ball past the outstretched hands of the keeper for an unassisted score.
The Cougars continued to work in the attacking third down the stretch of the half with shots from Fryer, Frischknecht and Bailey.
BYU took the 2-1 lead to the break after an opening half in which both teams recorded eight shots.
Second Half
Kansas began the second half much as it had the first, pestering the BYU defense with possession in the attacking third. The Jayhawks paid it off with a goal off the post in the 53rd minute, knotting the game 2-2 on the first shot of the half by either team.
The Cougars looked to respond and got off a flurry of shots beginning with two in quick succession from Bailey in the 59th and 62nd minutes. BYU again threatened to regain the lead with shots from Kesler in the 70th and Vance in the 74th, both of which forced Jayhawk saves.
Kansas wasn’t satisfied with the tie and fired a pair of shots in the closing 10 minutes of the game. Hernaez was there to corral both, including a diving save in the 88th to preserve the tie.
The Cougars possessed the ball over the final two minutes of play but went without a winning goal with a shot by Tylie Pratt out right in the 90th.
BYU returns to the Sunflower State on Oct. 14 for a matchup with Kansas State at Buser Family Park in Manhattan, Kansas. Watch the Cougars face the Wildcats on Monday at 6 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.