Sweet 16 next: McClure hat trick helps KU Jayhawks women’s soccer team dispatch Xavier

Katie McClure gave the Jayhawks women’s soccer team all the firepower it needed to advance in the NCAA women’s soccer tournament, and then some.

McClure, a KU senior forward out of Maize High, recorded a hat trick Friday as third-seeded and 11th-ranked Kansas blanked Xavier 3-0 in Columbia, South Carolina, to move into the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history.

KU next plays Sunday against South Carolina, a 1-0 winner over Notre Dame Friday, at 1 p.m. The game will take place at South Carolina’s Stone Stadium, streamed live via SEC Network+.

The Jayhawks’ previous foray into the Sweet 16 came in 2003. The second-seeded Gamecocks have reached the Sweet 16 four times in the past six seasons.

McClure’s three-goal performance was her second of the year and the first hat trick for the program in an NCAA tournament.

Sarah Peters, a sophomore from Lee’s Summit North High, earned the clean sheet in goal for the Jayhawks (17-4-3), who’ve now gone unbeaten in 11 straight matches and held opponents scoreless 12 times this season. Peters had seven saves.

McClure’s goals came in the fifth, 19th and 48th minutes. Her second was assisted by junior forward Mandi Duggan. Xavier’s season ends at 17-4-2.

This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 6:45 PM.