photo by: Mike Gunnoe/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas midfielder Jillian Gregorski (34) celebrates a goal with midfielder Marit McLaughlin (12) against Utah State on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence.

The 15th-ranked Kansas women’s soccer team opened its 2026 campaign Wednesday night with a 2-0 shutout of Utah State at Rock Chalk Park.

“It was a hot match and it was challenging for both teams,” said Kansas head coach Nate Lie, who is 3-0 in season-opening matches at KU. “We had two hydration breaks per half and two video challenges, so it was choppier than both teams would have liked it, but overall, I’m happy with the performance. We have some things we need to work on, such as unforced errors, but we’ll get to work and cut down on those.”

After a slow opening 10 minutes, Kansas (1-0) started to take control of the match and apply offensive pressure to the Aggies (0-1), who were picked to win the Pac-12 in the conference’s preseason poll. The Jayhawks broke through at 16:18, when Jocelyn Herrema fired a shot on goal that was stopped by Utah State keeper Allee Grashoff, but the rebound went to Jillian Gregorski, who put her shot in the back of the net to give KU a 1-0 lead.

“I was in the mix in front of the goal and the ball just came to me,” said Gregorski, who now has 19 career goals for KU. “When the play started, I thought that if the ball came to me, the goalie might not be able to see a shot completely, and I took advantage of it.”

Kansas had the run of play for the rest of the half, but was unable to score again and took a 1-0 advantage into halftime. The Jayhawks – who used 20 players in the opening 45 minutes – outshot Utah State, 7-2, including 3-1 in shots on goal, and took all five corner kicks in the first half.

“Us not being able to find a rhythm is a bit understandable, but I feel like one of the real strengths of this team can be its depth,” Lie said. “However, we have to have some players emerge for that to happen.”

Kansas controlled most of the second half, even though the Jayhawks were not able to manage many shots on goal. However, KU did get an insurance goal at 83:06, when Marit McLaughlin found Herrema, who dropped the ball off to a cutting Jordan Rowan, who then blasted a shot into the net to give the Jayhawks a 2-0 lead late in the match.

“Last year (when KU played Utah State to a 0-0 road draw), we had trouble finding space,” Gregorski said. “Tonight, we were able to find spaces and get to where we needed to be. We were patient, and us being patient makes the other team get tired and we found the right openings.”

For the match, Kansas outshot Utah State, 14-6, including 4-3 in shots on goal. The Jayhawks had nine corner kicks to the Aggies’ two, while Utah State was whistled for 10 fouls (and the match’s only yellow card) to five for Kansas.

A total of 22 players saw the field for KU in the win, with freshman Gianna Weiner being the only Jayhawk field player to play all 90 minutes. Goalkeeper Sophie Dawe made three saves in 90 minutes of work to earn the 15th clean sheet of her career.

Kansas now goes on the road for its next four matches, starting with a Sunday game at Missouri State. Kickoff at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Missouri, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m.