photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

KU freshman Jordan Rowan goes after the ball with Missouri State's Kayla Smith during the Jayhawks' match on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence.

The Kansas soccer team weathered an anxious final stretch after Utah Valley’s Ruby Hladek scored off a late corner kick, withstanding the Wolverines’ last few attacks and claiming a 3-2 victory at Rock Chalk Park on Thursday night to remain unbeaten.

Senior forward Lexi Watts scored twice, including once 34 seconds in off a long-distance service by Livvy Moore for a tally that was the fastest goal in Rock Chalk Park history, and assisted on the first career goal for Jordan Rowan.

“Our team has found a way to put themselves at 3-0, which is not an easy accomplishment against three conference champions,” head coach Nate Lie said in a press release. “I’m glad that we were able to defend our home field. That’s something that was important to us heading into this year. We look dangerous and tough, which I thought we would.”

Rowan, a freshman from Madison, Ohio, beat out a Wolverine defender and got on the end of a pass from Watts to make contact with the ball, which slowly rolled past UVU goalkeeper Leah Wolf and into the net. That goal in the 31st minute went down as the eventual winner for KU, which was later outshot 7-4 in the second half as it nursed its lead.

“We scored three in the first half and I thought we had some chances where we could have scored a few in the second half that would’ve really changed the game,” Lie said.

Hladek’s late goal put the Jayhawks on the back foot, although they almost responded when Saige Wimes tried a shot from long distance in an attempt to catch Wolf too far out of the goal. However, Wolf correctly judged Wimes’ intentions and corralled the ball to prevent KU from going back ahead by two goals.

UVU pushed its offense into threatening areas on several occasions but did not actually attempt a shot again after Hladek’s tally in the 85th minute.

Watts, who is now up to three goals in KU’s first three matches, led all players by attempting six shots in just 56 minutes of action. After Faith Webber equalized for UVU to make it 1-1 in the 22nd minute, Mia Owens committed a foul in the box less than two minutes later, and Watts put KU back in front with a penalty.

Hladek had four shots for UVU, the preseason favorite in the WAC and the reigning three-time winner of the regular-season title. The Wolverines had recently shut out Big 12 foe Utah, 2-0, on Monday.

Rowan and Wimes added three shots apiece for KU. The 23rd-ranked Jayhawks will head out for their first road match of the season at Utah State on Sunday at 2 p.m. Central Time.

“I’m really happy with the result,” Lie said. “A lot of respect for the opponent we just played, but we have to clean up a lot of things if we want to continue to win games.”