Kansas State Soccer Loses Heartbreaker to West Virginia, 3-2

Two K-State soccer players jump and hug in celebration after scoring a goal during Sundays soccer match against WVU. Courtesy: Cooper McDill

Kansas State’s women's soccer team took the field against the 24th ranked West Virginia Mountaineers this Sunday at Buser Family Park.

K-State appeared to be the more aggressive team with the ball spending much of the time in the Wildcats attacking half. This high pressure payed off when the Cats struck first in the 30th minute with a goal from Rilyn Rintoul using her knee as she was mere feet away from the Mountaineer Goalkeeper, Bailey Herfurth. Chloe Dillbeck was awarded her first assist of the season.

The score stayed that way for most of the half until a miscommunication from the Wildcat defense allowed a goal from Mountaineer freshman, Kailyn Effah, in the 43rd minute. The match then went into the half tied at one-a-piece.

The second half started much like the first with both teams battling, and Kansas State again seemed to control the ball for much of the time. The score stayed 1-1 until the West Virginia team leader in goals, Taylor White, got in front of Kansas State defenders and put one in the back of the net during the 82nd minute, the assist coming from Maya Leoni.

White then added her 10th goal of the season, and second of the game, a mere two minutes later in the 84th, this time with the assist from Olivia Shertzer, to make the score 3-1.

Keeping up with this fast-paced trend, McKinnan Braswell buried a heater in the upper right corner from 25+ yards out barely a minute later in the 85th minute to make the score 3-2. Emerson DeLuca is credited with that assist, her first of the season. However, despite the last-minute effort from the Wildcats, West Virginia held off two more shot attempts from Rylin Rintoul to beat Kansas State 3-2.

West Virginia goes home with their 8th win over the cats in nine meetings, the only other outcome a draw in 2021. For the Cats, they’ll turn their attention to their upcoming road trip with games against Houston and Texas Tech before returning to Manhattan for the last game of the season, which is against Iowa State.

The Cats have set lots of records this year seeing more success than ever in K-State soccer history, but the season is not yet over. Kansas State is on the edge of the Big 12 tournament, which takes the top eight regular-season teams, as well as on the bubble for the NCAA tournament. They’ll need to win or draw their next three games if they want to continue to have a chance.