Just when Kansas University’s soccer team looked like it was emerging as a national power … along came Pepperdine.

The unranked Waves rolled over the Jayhawks, 3-1, on Friday at Jayhawk Soccer Complex – a match that came just five days after KU’s 4-3 victory over No. 12 Duke in Birmingham, Ala.

“I really didn’t,” KU coach Mark Francis said, asked if he feared any chance of a letdown after the Duke contest.

“It’s disappointing. We’ll see if we’re any good on Sunday (against Central Florida, 1 p.m., Jayhawk Complex). It’s going to be a real test I guess.”

Ranked 18th in the country in one poll and 20th in another after beating both Alabama and Duke last weekend, KU (4-2) led Pepperdine (4-1-2), 1-0 at halftime, thanks to a goal by Jessica Kilpatrick off an assist from Kim Boyer at 36:42.

With the wind at their backs, the Waves scored three times in the final half. First, Jennifer Brewer drilled a shot from 45 yards, over the head of KU goalkeeper Julie Hanley, at 46:51. Next, Kelly Reilly knocked in a loose ball in front of the box at 56:06. Finally, following a free kick in which the ball banged off a wall of Jayhawks, McKenzie Hill notched a final unassisted goal at 80:12.

“I thought the first half we played really well and we threw it away the second half,” Francis said. “The second half we didn’t play with the same intensity and gave them the game. We gave up a couple of really bad goals. I thought we threw it away.”

Rendered speechless by the second-half fizz, Francis spoke with his players only a minute or two – and the media just a few minutes longer than that -following the contest.

Pepperdine coach Tim Ward, meanwhile, basked in the victory.

His squad was missing four key injured players.

“I just told him (KU’s Francis) it was a tale of two halves,” Ward said. “One thing we told our girls … last year we played Kansas in San Diego and we were behind and were able to come from behind and win. We said, ‘We’ve done this one time before.’ The girls never stopped believing, fortunately for us.

“Kansas is a class act. Kansas will go on and have a tremendous season.”

KU’s bright spot was the first goal of the season for senior Kilpatrick. It came off a corner kick, with Kilpatrick set up deep in the box.

“The first five minutes of the second half are the most important. We let them score a goal,” Kilpatrick said. “We needed to come out and show them we weren’t joking around with the first half. We didn’t do that.”

The loss snapped KU’s six-game homefield win streak.

“Every home loss is a hard loss. We have to come out and start over on Sunday,” Kilpatrick said.