Tomorrow will mark the NCAA’s selection of teams for the 2025 NCAA DI Women’s bracket. On Saturday, the Jayhawks could have etched their name into the tournament with a win in the conference championship against the BYU Cougars.
Now, Kansas already had to fight through both West Virginia and Colorado. Against the Mountaineers, the Jayhawks eased themselves to a 4-0 win; however, the Buffaloes came with a much sterner test, a narrow 2-1 victory. The Jayhawks were down relatively early with an early goal conceded in the 27th minute, thanks to a Faith Leyba goal. However, the Jayhawks kept knocking at the door, and when their 55th-minute chance came, Saige Wimes was on the spot to equalize the score. 19 minutes later, Kansas took advantage with an unassisted Lydia Viets goal that sealed the day.
The tense win pushed Nate Lie’s side into the Big 12 Championship game for the second time in two years, as all that stood in the Jayhawks’ way were the BYU Cougars. After a narrow 7-6 shootout win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Cougars grew on that momentum with a monster 4-0 win against the Baylor Bears.
With the scene set at Baylor University, on Saturday night, the Kansas Jayhawks fell in a tight 1-0 loss.
The lone goal came from Ellie Walbruch’s 21st-minute strike, a right-footed shot from yards outside the box, which looked to lob the net until a last-second knock of the crossbar redirected the shot into the net, leaving the sprawling Sophie Dawe with no chance at keeping it out of the net.
In the second half, the Jayhawks compiled chance after chance, including a gut-wrenching 89th-minute save by Chelsea Peterson, which just parried Kate Langfelder’s header just wide of the post.
Despite 13 shots in the second period, the Cougars narrowly prevailed and lifted their first Big 12 Championship in women’s soccer history.
Not all hope is lost. On Monday, the selection committee will announce its final teams allowed in the 64-team bracket, and the Jayhawks look in a prime position to get a seed.
The NCAA’s RPI ranks Kansas as the nation’s 7th-best team, and a 14-5-3 record proves why. Lie’s squad has been an unstoppable force on the road with an astounding 6-1-1 record, showing that when the tournament forces the Jayhawks to hit the road, they have passed the test time and time again.
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