photo by: Nathan Friedman/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas forward Saige Wimes dribbles the ball down the line during the game against Baylor on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, in Lawrence.

The 14th-ranked Kansas soccer team suffered its second straight loss following a nine-match unbeaten run to open the season, as it fell 3-2 to No. 10 TCU at Rock Chalk Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Horned Frogs avenged their defeat to KU in last season’s Big 12 tournament championship game, largely on the strength of forward Seven Castain, who scored a hat trick on three shots, including back-to-back goals in a span of two minutes and 13 seconds to break open the match in the second half.

That canceled out a strong start for the Jayhawks with Lexi Watts’ sixth goal of the season in the fourth minute, and despite a pair of late efforts by Watts and Caroline Castans, KU couldn’t get an equalizer following Saige Wimes’ late tally.

KU coach Nate Lie had previously said he was interested to see how his team would bounce back the first time it dealt with a loss, and he said after Sunday’s match that he was proud of the Jayhawks’ response to their ugly defeat against Baylor — at least early on.

“Very proud of how we came out in the first half, very disappointed in how we came out of halftime,” Lie said in a press release. “That first 20 minutes we just got outplayed, and I think it drained our energy and we had a hard time investing in the things that make us successful.”

The Jayhawks outshot TCU dramatically prior to the break but fell victim to a drastic change in momentum as the Frogs held a 9-4 advantage after halftime.

“Going into halftime tied 1-1 in a game that we’re outshooting them 15 to 3 felt like we could have done more damage in the first half,” Lie said in a video posted on social media. “… A team as good as TCU, it’s hard to let them stick around.”

KU nearly scored in the opening seconds when Watts had a reasonably open shot that necessitated a save from TCU’s Olivia Geller, and Emily Tobin couldn’t quite track down the rebound. Watts got her early goal on a left-footed strike right over Geller shortly afterward.

The Jayhawks kept up their pressure in the time that followed, but committed a handball in the box in the 24th minute that allowed Castain to convert a penalty kick and equalize for TCU.

KU goalkeeper Sophie Dawe was up to the task throughout the match, recording four saves for the Jayhawks, but two of those saves led directly to Castain’s other goals. In the 63rd minute, she parried Emma Yolinsky’s effort from outside the box, but Castain was able to charge through the large empty space between Castans and Olivia Page and score off the rebound. Moments later, Dawe had to leap to deny Grace Vest; Castain was opportunistic again and ran past Fiona Skwierawski to the far post for the tap-in.

Wimes dispossessed Cornog and rounded Geller for an open-net goal of her own in the final minutes, but it wasn’t enough as KU fell to 7-2-2, including 1-2 in Big 12 play.

“I just told the team this is a tough weekend — hate losing two games at home, hate giving up six goals,” Lie said. “But if we grow from this game as much as I think we grew from Thursday’s game, we’ll be fine.”

Next up for the Jayhawks as they look to bounce back is the Sunflower Showdown at Rock Chalk Park on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Kansas State is in its first season under Colleen Corbin, a former Wyoming coach who last year was the associate head coach for the Saint Louis team that eliminated KU from the postseason. The Wildcats started the year strong and earned a draw at Colorado to open Big 12 play, but had a rough weekend of their own against TCU and Baylor, losing 1-0 and 3-0, respectively, in Manhattan.