BYU finally broke the Big 12’s best defense. Its reward is a road match against a goalkeeper with eight shutouts and a team that keeps winning in the last six minutes.
No. 20 BYU visits No. 18 Kansas at 5 p.m. Mountain on Thursday, Oct. 22, at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence. ESPN+ will stream the match, and StatBroadcast has the official live-stat feed. BYU’s stable schedule ID is 25213.
Both teams are 5-1-1 in the Big 12 and tied for first with Baylor and Texas Tech at 16 points. BYU is 9-3-2 overall after beating then-No. 8 Texas Tech 3-2. Kansas is 11-3-1 after three straight wins, the latest a 1-0 result over Iowa State on Marit McLaughlin’s 87th-minute goal.
Thursday is not a ceremonial first-place game. The winner takes three points directly from another leader with three conference matches left. More immediately, BYU has to decide whether its three-goal answer against Texas Tech travels against a Kansas side that has allowed nine goals in 15 matches.
BYU-Kansas watch information
| Match detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | No. 20 BYU at No. 18 Kansas |
| Date | Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026 |
| Kickoff | 5 p.m. MDT / 6 p.m. CDT |
| Venue | Rock Chalk Park, Lawrence, Kansas |
| TV/stream | ESPN+ match stream (subscription may be required) |
| Live stats | StatBroadcast |
| Tickets | Official Kansas ticket page |
| Radio | No official radio listing published |
| Permanent event link | BYU women’s soccer schedule |
The BYU event record lists 2026-10-22 at 23:00 UTC, which converts to 5 p.m. MDT and 6 p.m. CDT. BYU’s preview and schedule publish the same time, venue, ESPN+ route and live-stat link. Kansas’ schedule and match-promotion page independently list the 6 p.m. Central start at Rock Chalk Park.
Neither school has published a radio option. The direct ESPN player can redirect by device or account. If it moves before kickoff, use the permanent BYU schedule rather than an unofficial streaming directory.
Four teams share first, but only two are on this field
BYU, Kansas, Baylor and Texas Tech each have 16 conference points. That makes every result across the league relevant, but BYU does not need a standings calculator to understand Thursday.
A win moves the Cougars three points ahead of Kansas. A loss does the reverse. A draw preserves the tie between them and leaves both dependent on what Baylor and Texas Tech do elsewhere.
The standings pressure is sharper because these teams arrived by different routes. BYU spent Friday recovering from a goal conceded after 46 seconds. Mia Goettsche tied the match, Mattyn Summers-Oviatt scored twice, and the Cougars protected a 3-2 lead after Texas Tech cut the margin in the 71st minute.
Kansas has won its last three by a combined 4-0. The Jayhawks beat Kansas State 2-0, scored in the 84th minute to win 1-0 at Colorado, then scored in the 87th to beat Iowa State 1-0. Two of those victories stayed scoreless deep into the second half.
That difference shapes the match. BYU now knows it can survive a fast, open top-10 game. Kansas has spent three weeks proving it can wait without losing its nerve.
Sophie Dawe can make patience feel like failure
Kansas goalkeeper Sophie Dawe has played all but one minute this season. The official Kansas totals list nine goals allowed in 15 matches, 38 saves and eight shutouts. She carried a .780 save percentage into the Iowa State match after earning her second Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Week award.
Those numbers are not an invitation for BYU to settle for harmless possession. They are also not a reason to treat every first-half touch like the last chance of the night.
Kansas has taken 272 shots and allowed only 87. That is more than a goalkeeper line. The Jayhawks keep opponents from building long attacking receipts in the first place. Dawe is the last layer of a team that protects central space, handles service and gives itself time to find one goal.
BYU’s 3-2 win over Texas Tech supplied the useful counterexample. The Cougars did not beat Addie Todd with a pile of straight shots. Goettsche finished at the far post after the defense had to turn toward Emma Hamberlin’s cross. Summers-Oviatt scored once with her head and once after moving behind the line.
That variety has to travel. A shot count alone will not tell fans whether BYU is solving Kansas. Watch where Dawe’s feet are when the ball arrives. If she stays square, catches cleanly and never has to recover across goal, the Cougars may be active without being dangerous. If Kansas’ back line has to face its own goal, track a far-post runner or defend a rebound, BYU will have changed the picture.
Kansas’ late goals are a warning about second actions
McLaughlin’s recent winners did not come from identical plays, but they share a useful trait: Kansas stayed connected to the action after the first opening failed.
At Colorado, Jordan Rowan reached a loose ball at the top of the box and directed it toward McLaughlin. Her 84th-minute strike took a deflection and became the only goal. Against Iowa State, McLaughlin scored in the 87th after Kansas had produced 23 shots, 10 on goal and 10 corners.
The Jayhawks did not mistake a long scoreless stretch for proof that the goal would never come. They kept putting the next ball into a useful area.
BYU’s defensive test is therefore larger than the first clearance. A headed corner that lands near the top of the box is still Kansas possession unless a Cougar claims it. A blocked shot that rolls to Rowan or McLaughlin can become a cleaner attempt than the original. A goalkeeper save that stays in traffic may only delay the problem.
Kansas’ cumulative numbers show several routes into that second action. Jillian Gregorski leads the team with seven goals on 63 shots. Caroline Castans has five goals and three assists from the back. McLaughlin has five goals, while Livvy Moore has supplied 11 assists. Kansas can finish through its lead shooter, bring a defender into the attack or use Moore to create the next pass.
That spread makes the assignment awkward. BYU cannot spend the entire night leaning toward Gregorski. Castans’ production means set pieces and recycled possession carry scoring weight. Moore’s assist total punishes the defender who follows the ball and loses the next runner.
The first Cougar touch after a Kansas corner may be Thursday’s most revealing detail. A desperate clearance into another red-and-blue shirt lets the pressure continue. A controlled outlet to Goettsche, Mika Krommenhoek or Afton Perry can turn Kansas’ numbers forward into BYU’s best counterattacking chance.
Summers-Oviatt changed what Kansas has to defend
Before Friday, Summers-Oviatt had two goals this season. She doubled that total against Texas Tech with the first brace of her BYU career.
The pair mattered because the finishes asked different questions. Her first came on a header after Sydney Snow drove the ball across goal. Her second came after Krommenhoek found her moving through the line. One punished the space around the goal. The other punished the space behind the defense.
Kansas now has fresh evidence that closing one route may open another. If Castans and the center of the Jayhawk line drop early to protect the six-yard area, Krommenhoek may have room to receive and choose the next run. If Kansas steps out to deny that pass, BYU can send a runner through the channel or deliver behind the first defender.
This does not mean Summers-Oviatt is guaranteed another start, another brace or even the first shot. It means Kansas cannot build the entire defensive plan around the version of BYU that scored once at Cincinnati and none at West Virginia.
The Cougars have scored through Goettsche’s far-post movement, Bella Woods’ free kick, Summers-Oviatt’s aerial timing and Krommenhoek’s connection play over their last three matches. That is the most encouraging part of the Texas Tech result. Three goals were useful. Three distinct ways to create them are more likely to survive a road trip.
The opening 10 minutes need less drama
BYU conceded to Texas Tech before the match was a minute old. Collins and the defense recovered well enough to win, but there is no good reason to make that trick a habit.
Kansas is built to turn an early lead into a long evening. The Jayhawks do not need to chase a second goal if Dawe and the back line can keep the match narrow. An early BYU mistake would let Kansas lower the pace, choose its pressure and wait for BYU to leave space while searching for an equalizer.
The Cougars should press, but the first press has to be connected. A forward sprint without the midfield behind it gives Moore or Castans time to find the next pass. A fullback stepping high without weak-side protection gives Gregorski a channel before BYU has settled.
The better opening is controlled aggression: force Kansas toward a sideline, keep the second defender close enough to collect the loose ball and make the Jayhawks complete more than one pass to escape. BYU does not need to score in the first 10 minutes. It needs to avoid giving Kansas the exact match state it has handled best.
Fans should also watch who wins the first two corners. Kansas took 10 against Iowa State and has scored 29 goals this season despite only one player reaching seven. Repeated restarts are one way a balanced roster turns pressure into enough chances for someone to finish.
The road record and Lawrence history pull in opposite directions
BYU is 2-3-1 away from South Field this season. The Cougars have won at UCLA and Cincinnati, drawn at Arizona, and lost at Wisconsin, Utah State and West Virginia. That is enough evidence to reject either easy conclusion. BYU is neither a helpless road team nor a finished one.
The series history is friendlier. BYU leads Kansas 5-2-1 and has never lost to the Jayhawks in Lawrence, going 2-0-1 there. The most recent Rock Chalk Park meeting ended 2-2 in 2024.
Last season made the matchup less comfortable. Kansas won 3-1 at South Field in the regular season. BYU answered with a 1-0 victory in the Big 12 Tournament final.
Those two 2025 results are a good warning against turning history into a prediction. Kansas showed it could attack BYU’s home field. BYU showed it could change the matchup when a trophy was on the line. Thursday’s teams bring current forms that matter more: Kansas has three straight shutouts, while BYU just scored three against an opponent that had allowed three league goals before arriving in Provo.
What comes next
BYU travels to Iowa State on Monday, Oct. 26, before returning home for Utah and Arizona State. Kansas goes to TCU on Sunday, then visits Houston before hosting Texas Tech. The women’s soccer hub keeps the roster and season pages together, and the results archive will carry Thursday’s final after BYU publishes it.
The standings will move again after Thursday. The useful checkpoints are simpler than the four-team tie: can BYU make Dawe move before shooting, can the Cougars end Kansas’ second actions, and can Summers-Oviatt’s two-route threat create room for someone else?
Kansas has been comfortable waiting until the 84th and 87th minutes. BYU should plan for a full 90 without playing as if it has all night.
Sources and further reading
- BYU Athletics event 25213 for the stable schedule ID, UTC kickoff, Rock Chalk Park venue, road and conference designations, event rankings and scheduled status.
- BYU Athletics: Kansas match preview and the official women’s soccer schedule for the Mountain start, ESPN+ and StatBroadcast routes, current records, standings tie, Kansas’ three-match run and series history.
- BYU Athletics: 3-2 win over Texas Tech and the official box score for BYU’s current form, scoring sequence, Summers-Oviatt brace, Krommenhoek assists and late defensive work.
- Kansas Athletics: Iowa State preview, 2026 team statistics and BYU opponent history for independent schedule confirmation, Dawe’s goalkeeper context, Kansas’ player and team totals, Rock Chalk Park history and the series ledger.
- Kansas Athletics: 1-0 win at Colorado for McLaughlin’s late winner, Kansas’ defensive sequence and ranked-road result.
- University of Kansas brand color guide for official Kansas Blue
#0051BAand crimson#E8000Dused in the original matchup art. - BYU Sport Nuts: Texas Tech watch guide, Texas Tech recap, women’s soccer schedule and results.
