Nevada 2, Kansas State 1
Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024
Manhattan, Kan. - Buser Family Park

Nevada Goals
Olivia Loomis '15
Penny Murphy '48

Kansas State Goals
Jayce Woodward '79

MANHATTAN, Kan. - Playing just her second-career match, Nevada goalkeeper Alyssa Szarlacki turned in a breakout performance Thursday night, making 10 saves to anchor the Wolf Pack's season-opening 2-1 win at Kansas State.

Nevada (1-0-0) will go for a sweep of the opening weekend Sunday, hosting Southern Utah in its 2024 home opener at noon at Mackay Stadium.

Thursday, Szarlacki thrice snuffed out one-on-one situations to prevent a Wildcat equalizer and make goals from Olivia Loomis and Penny Murphy stand up. In the dying seconds of the first half, Kansas State's Khaliana Garrett found herself with a clear look in the center of the penalty area, but Szarlacki charged and made a brilliant kick save to preserve Nevada's 1-0 lead at the break.

With Penny Murphy's goal doubling the Pack lead early in the second half, Szarlacki went to work in the final 15 minutes of the match. In the 78th minute, the San Jose, Calif., native denied Jayce Woodward from close range, then scrambled up and to her right to deflect a second-chance effort from Morgan Struttman, maintaining the two-goal advantage.

Kansas State (0-1-0) would blemish Szarlacki's clean sheet a minute later, however, as Woodward capitalized on Szarlacki and Lauren Muff colliding as they attempted to block the effort, sliding in across the goal mouth to cut the Pack lead to 2-1.

Szarlacki's aggressiveness in closing down angles shut down Kansas State's final opportunity of the night. Kiran Singh was played through on the right in the 88th minute, but a charging Szarlacki forced Singh to rush the shot, and she sent it wide right.

Nevada's defense cleared out two Wildcat corner kicks in the final two minutes, and a last-gasp free kick into the box sailed untouched over the end line, sealing the Wolf Pack's victory.

Nevada controlled much of the match outside of the first and last 10-minute blocks. Kansas State put the Wolf Pack on the back foot early on, getting off a pair of shots and forcing Szarlacki's first save within the opening seven minutes.

But the Wolf Pack found its footing 10 minutes in, slowly taking control of the pace. The initiative was rewarded in the 15th minute on a well-executed push from before midfield. Maddie Benson carried along the right flank and played Emily Rich ahead. In what turned out to be a long night for the Wildcat backline to akeep up with Rich's speed on the flank, Rich captured the edge and slithered a ball through multiple defenders and into the center of the box, where Loomis one-timed home for the first goal of the campaign.

The teams traded near-misses in the ensuing minutes. Woodward rattled the crossbar five minutes after Loomis' goal, and Trinity Sandridge nearly doubled Nevada's lead in the 26th minute but saw her attempt saved by Murphy Sheaff.

The energy from Szarlacki's save in the final seconds before the half carried over to the start of the second, as Nevada tilted the field with pressure on the Wildcat back line. The push paid off just three minutes into the half, thanks once again to Rich's speed. Rich's relentless pressure forced a misplay on a ball back towards Sheaff, beating Sheaff to the loose ball and putting the Wildcat keeper in no-woman's-land. An easy ball into space in the center of the area found a wide-open Murphy, whose clinical finish made it 2-0 Wolf Pack.

Nevada nearly had a third in a few occasions in the next five minutes—Sandridge and Loomis each having their efforts denied. Although Kansas State's desperation late yielded a goal and nearly an equalizer, Szarlacki's performance helped preserve the Wolf Pack's victory.