K-State Drops Big 12 Opener to Houston

Friday, September 18

Manhattan, Kan.

6:30 p.m.

Kansas State University

5-1-3, 0-1-0

Houston

5-1-3, 1-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Houston	1	2	3
Kansas St.	0	0	0

Sep 18, 2026 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score (pdf)

MANHATTAN, Kansas – K-State opened Big 12 action on Friday night against Houston, as the Wildcats suffered their first defeat of the season, 3-0, at Buser Family Park.

With the loss, K-State (5-1-3, 0-1-0 Big 12) saw its unbeaten streak end at nine matches, which was a school record for the longest unbeaten streak in program history.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- Houston (5-1-3, 1-0-0) took a 1-0 lead, as Samira Minor floated a shot from 35 yards, with a stiff south wind behind her, to push the Cougars into the lead.
- In the 20^th minute, K-State appeared to square the match at one apiece. Sophomore midfielder Langley Mayers deflected a clearance by a Houston defender back towards the Cougars' goal. Mayers slid to push the ball into the frame. However, Houston challenged the play and following the Video Assisted Review (VAR), the goal was disallowed as it was ruled that Mayers played the ball out of the hands of Houston goalkeeper Sierra McCluer. This was the third goal K-State has had taken off the scoreboard this season due to VAR.
- In the 68^th minute, the Cougars made it 2-0 as Ella Morgan finished a corner kick from Laney Gonzales with a header across frame.
- In the 70th minute, Houston pushed its advantage to 3-0 with a second goal off a corner kick. Adelhia Ghonda nudged the ball inside the left post with her shoulder, finishing the corner kick off the foot of Danielle Shannon.
- Houston held a 20-19 edge in total shots and a 5-3 lead in total shots.

QUICK FACTS
- Head coach Colleen Corbin is 34-31-20 (.518) in her five career seasons as a head coach. She owns a 12-7-8 (.593) mark in her two seasons at K-State.
- The Wildcats are 28-49-10 (.379) in games played at Buser Family Park, including a 6-4-2 mark under Corbin. The Wildcats saw its four-match home unbeaten streak ended, which was tied for the second-longest stretch in program history.
- This was the third meeting in the series between K-State and Houston; the series is tied, 1-1-1.
- The Wildcats are 11-62-11 all-time in Big 12 Conference matches.
- The Wildcats are 18-44-13 in its history in matches played in the month of September, including a 1-1-2 mark this season.

TEAM NOTES
- The Wildcats trailed at halftime, 1-0. K-State is 1-3-1 under Corbin when trailing after the first 45 minutes.

PLAYER NOTES
- Langley Mayers and McKinnan Braswell each led the Wildcats with four total shots. Braswell carded two shots on goal.
- Senior defender Reece Walrod made her 50th consecutive start. This was her 51st career start and her 60th career match played. Walrod ranks tied for seventh in program history for career games started.
- Senior forward Rilyn Rintoul, senior midfielder McKinnan Braswell and junior goalkeeper Maddie Sibbing each made their 27^th straight starts at K-State.
- Sophomore midfielder Langley Mayers made her 18^th career start.

FROM THE HEAD COACH
K-State Head Coach Colleen Corbin
On Lailah Benz's performance in her second career start…
"Lailah was incredible. That's a big moment for a kid who hasn't played a ton of minutes consistently, and definitely not in that position. So for her to step in and have the impact that she did and play the role that she did was really impressive. We've been talking to the group all year about everyone needing to be ready and prepared and excited to step in when their name is called, and I thought she was awesome tonight."

On McKinnan Braswell and Langley Mayers creating offensive momentum…
"Our midfield collectively has been really dynamic all year. They're both very good attacking players who like to get on the ball, like to go to goal and they continue to be threatening and they continue to cause chaos. And other teams have to respect them. So I think both of them put in an incredible shift tonight, and again continue to cause dangerous opportunities and get us in front of goal."

On the biggest difference between Big 12 play and the non-con…
"We didn't score goals, right? I think our team's been scoring goals all year, which has been really fun. We still got 19 shots off, which is a lot. I think just not being able to see the ball hit the back of the net is disappointing, especially with the offensive momentum we continue to have. But I thought overall our performance was really good. It doesn't feel like a 3-0 game. To give up a goal, one is you know one's a mistake. It probably doesn't happen 99 times out of 100, and then two set pieces is just unfortunate. It's tough to give up goals like that, and so to not really give up anything truly in the run of play I think our defensive presence was really really good tonight. It's just unfortunate to give up goals on the wrong end."

On what needs to improve going into the game against Arizona…
"I think the set pieces are the ones you can really take away from it. Just continuing to hone in on our defensive moments in those spaces. But again, I think the way our team played, I'm really proud of. Really, really good fight. Really good defensive presence. Really good offensive creativity, and really dynamic in the final third. I feel really good about the performance in general. It's just again a tough one to lose, and I think we'll go back and watch it. And I'm sure there's other takeaways after going and watching it back. But for the most part it is extra difficult because it's not one of those games that you walk away from feeling like you didn't play well. So it's tough."

UP NEXT
K-State continues its three-match home stand next Thursday at Buser Family Park, as the Wildcats host Arizona at 6:30 p.m. For tickets, call (800) 221-CATS or visit kstatesports.com/tickets.

Thursday's match will air on ESPN+.

How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Soccer, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram.