Zdrojewski, Nguyen lift No. 18 Texas Tech past No. 21 Kansas 2–0 to take Big 12 lead
No. 13/18 Texas Tech continues to write its 2025 story – one with a lot of eager characters – as the Red Raiders now sit alone atop the Big 12 standings following a 2–0 win over No. 21 Kansas on Sunday afternoon at the John Walker Soccer Complex. Behind two goals from junior forward Taylor Zdrojewski and a third straight shutout from Faith Nguyen and the Red Raider defense, Tech used a full-team effort to move to 10-1-1 on the year.
“You can just feel it in the group, they all want to be a part of the story,” head coach Tom Stone said about his team postgame. “They don’t just want to be along for the ride, they want to make their mark on it. Whether it’s the starters, the subs or the ones cheering from the sideline, they all care about writing this chapter together.”
Texas Tech Stat Leaders
Taylor Zdrojewski – 4 shots, 3 shots on goal, 2 goals, 70 min
Peyton Parsons – 3 shots, 2 shots on goal, 1 assist, 65 min
Raleigh Greason – 3 shots, 2 shots on goal, 45 min
Backline (Nguyen, Bahr, McCartney, Hays, Blackburn) – All played full 90s in the shutout. Nguyen added 5 saves.
How It Happened
On a hot Sunday afternoon, on the back end of a two-match weekend, Texas Tech showed little signs of fatigue. They came out attacking early and often, dictating the tempo and taking control of the match within the opening minutes.
Taylor Zdrojewski opened the scoring in the first half with perhaps the best goal of her career, in a long line of bangers to choose from, when she went upper 90 to put Texas Tech up 1-0 10 minutes into the match.
“We did start off fast and the team built confidence from there,” said Stone. “Kansas is definitely a physical team, but not so physical that we got into stuff we couldn’t handle. We just needed to match that and be strong on the ball and care about getting the ball first. When those things happened, we were pretty good at breaking their pressure.”
Instead the Red Raiders turned that pressure right back around on the Jayhawks as Tech forwards Zdrojewski and Greason were exhausting the Kansas backline early. A level of effort that was matched when Storie Sexton entered the match as she forced a turnover to the feet of Zdrojewski who ripped a shot to force the Kansas’ keeper into a full-extension save to tip it over the crossbar.
“Storie is one of the great stories of the weekend,” Stone said. “Her fitness and her tenacity just came to play today. She was relentless in this heat on a second game in four days. That was amazing effort from Storie.”
Not to be denied, Zdrojewski did eventually get that second goal midway through the second half, finishing home a Peyton Parsons cross just in front of net. This pushed her to ten goals on the season, marking back-to-back 10-goal years for the redshirt-junior forward.
“It feels great,” Zdrojewski said. “A lot of it comes from practice. I get a lot of reps, a lot of looks and that helps me in games when those moments come. Our press creates chances and when we finish them early, it changes everything.”
Stone praised her continued evolution into one of the more dangerous forwards Texas Tech has had, which says a great deal given this program’s history.
“She’s always been a finisher, a pure finisher,” he said. “She’s always been a rebound monster, good with her head and finishing crosses. But now when she gets half-turned and makes good contact, it’s an absolute missile coming off her foot. I thought the goal she scored Thursday was one of the best she’s ever scored here … that goal today was Z, Macy, Janine — all of them rolled into one. That’s an upper-90 absolute cannon.”
That physicality and clinical play is something Zdrojewski brings every day in training and it only makes her teammates better. This was something echoed by First Team All-Big 12 goalkeeper Faith Nguyen.
“For Z and just the way that she pushes our team to be better. The things she does in practice raises the level for everybody,” Nguyen said. “It’s awesome having her as not just a goal scorer but as a leader who makes us sharper.”
Nguyen herself was tested by Kansas but came up big everytime on her way to five saves to secure the Red Raiders’ third straight clean sheet in a row and fifth in their last seven matches. The win also carried extra meaning after last year’s Big 12 Tournament loss to Kansas.
“I was really excited for Kansas,” she said. “No one gets a piece of us twice. It felt good to get a win like that against them, especially after the result we had last year. The whole week our team was just fired up for these two games at home and it was awesome in front of that kind of crowd.”
The back line once again anchored the effort. Redshirt-junior defender Kylie Bahr locked down Kansas’ leading scorer Lexie Watts on multiple occasions and nearly tallied her first career goal late when her long-range strike rattled off the far post. A performance that should surprise no one that has seen Bahr playing like one of the best players in the country let alone the Big 12 this season.
“Physically, from an intimidation standpoint, heading, blocking shots, one-v-one defending – that kid is doing it all,” Stone said. “Kylie Bahr is having one heck of a season.”
Next Up: Home Versus #7 TCU, Friday 10/10 7pm
Texas Tech caps off their three game home stand with the preseason Big 12 favorites and reigning Big 12 champion No.7 ranked TCU on Friday night in Lubbock. A primetime matchup with the Horned Frogs who come into this sitting just behind Tech in the standings with a 9-2-0 overall and 4-1-0 conference record.
“They’re good, it’s always a battle with them,” said Stone on TCU. “They’re one of the hardest-working teams in the league and they’ve got some real weapons up top. For us it’s about recovery and focus. Getting our legs back and being sharp by Friday night. It’s another top-tier Big 12 opponent and we know it’s going to take everything we’ve got.”
First touch at 7 pm at the John Walker Soccer Complex in Lubbock. BE THERE!
Game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Photo Gallery: Texas Tech vs. Kansas Soccer
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