Texas Tech Grinds Out Gritty 2-1 win at Kansas State
MANHATTAN, Kan. – A pair of goals off two different corner kicks, powered No. 25 Texas Tech Soccer to a gritty 2-1 win over Kansas State Thursday night at Buser Family Parker.
Up 1-0 after a Peyton Annen rocket off a deflected corner, Texas Tech (8-2-1, 3-0-1 Big 12) saw its 1-0 erased in the 39th minute when Kansas State (3-7-1, 0-4-0) intercepted an errant pass for their lone goal of the night.
The goal for Annen was her third career goal, but first as a Red Raider.
Absorbing the gut punch, the Red Raiders needed just 57 second to find an answer, as Kaitlyn Giametta buried a loose ball for her fourth goal of the season.
Both goals were assisted by sophomore Taylor Zdrojewski, who earned her second and third assist of the season.
Keeper Faith Nguyen made a pair of saves to close out her third straight win, and sixth of the season.
With the victory, the Red Raiders extend their power conference leading Big 12 unbeaten streak to 21 (17-0-4) straight matches and their road unbeaten streak to 12 (8-0-4).
In the victory, the Red Raiders outshot the Wildcats 22-6 and attempted a season-high 14 corner kicks.
HEAD COACH TOM STONE:
“We weren’t too happy at the half about the goal we gave up and for some of the senseless giveaways we had. The first thing we pointed out was that it was the first time on the road this season that we’ve responded to giving up a goal. We did it within two minutes which is the mark of a good team and the team we want to become. We said we’re a work in progress, and that was a hurdle we needed to get over. When someone scores and we’re dejected, we need to score. We proud of that and happy for that. It turned out that goal won the game, that response is why we pulled out the 2-1 win.”
On the effort and ability to close the game out:
“During the last 20 minutes, we realized tonight was not going to be pretty. K-State is good at home, and we just needed to grind and find a way to win the game. That’s when our girls went to the tattoo and emptied their tanks. Z was phenomenal as was Chloe Soto. And then Crunch [Cassie Taylor] is the rock of our back line. Those are girls that don’t need a tattoo. That’s just who they are. The rest of the team joined them and matched their effort which was awesome to see.”
UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders seek to close a three-match road swing, 3-0-0, on Sunday afternoon when they head to Houston to face the Cougars. First touch is set for 1 p.m.
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Release Provided By Andrew Stern Texas Tech Athletics