KU Jayhawks soccer team upends Louisville 3-1, reaches Sweet 16 of NCAAs
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- Kansas reaches Sweet 16 for third time and first since 2019 after win over Louisville.
- Caroline Castans sets single-season assist record and adds two assists in match.
- Jillian Gregorski and Lexi Watts score late goals to clinch victory and momentum.
The Kansas Jayhawks women’s soccer team is headed to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the third time in program history, and first since 2019.
No. 16-ranked and No. 3-seeded KU (16-5-3) stormed back from a 1-0 deficit and upended No. 20-ranked, No. 6 seed Louisville 3-1 on Thursday night in a second-round contest at Koskinen Field in Durham, North Carolina.
Kansas, which defeated California Baptist 3-1 in the first round on Nov. 14 at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, will next meet No. 11-ranked Duke at 1 p.m. Sunday at Koskinen Field.
Duke, a No. 2 seed, defeated No. 7 seed, UCF, 1-0, on Thursday night.
With the Jayhawks trailing 1-0, Faith Johnston tied the KU-Louisville match with four minutes left in the first half. Jillian Gregorski and Lexi Watts each scored in the final 10 minutes to assure victory.
In Thursday’s victory, Caroline Castans dished two assists and, with, 15, became KU’s all-time single-season leader in that category. She also assisted on the Jayhawks’ first two goals.
Johnston scored her second goal of the NCAA Tournament, while Gregorski scored her career-high 10th goal of the season. Watts extended her career high to 11 goals.
“We started a little bit slow, which we were going to continue to try to address,” Kansas head coach Nate Lie said after the match. “But I’m really proud of how the team stuck in there, held their ground, and then slowly started to gain momentum, gain territory, and feed into our identity and what we like to do.
“It was a really important goal from Faith (Johnston) before halftime to tie the game and to give us that burst of energy. I thought Faith and Jocelyn (Herrema) were tremendous in their shift up front, and then really proud of the second half that we just put out there,” Lie added.
Kansas over the past two seasons has 19 road/neutral wins, the most in the country. The Jayhawks are 10-10 all-time in NCAA Tourney matches.
The Jayhawks will be trying to make history on Sunday as no KU team has advanced past the Sweet 16.
Louisville finished the season with a 13-5-3 record.
“The field tilted downward in our favor and allowed us to stay on the front foot,” Lie said. “Louisville did find a few instances to break through, but when they did, I thought our defenders and our team defended with purpose and honor.
“Getting those two goals there in the second half was really awesome,” he noted. “Caroline Castans, who gets so many assists, got to the right spot, and put a really good shot on frame, and the goalkeeper saved it. And Jill (Gregorski), as she always is, was there to clean it up.
“When you’re defending a 2-1 lead, it’s a lot easier if you can make it 3-1 rather than to just hold on, and credit to Lexi (Watts) for getting in the right spot and then having a composed professional finish.”
Louisville scored first in the 19th minute off a goal by Grace Maddox on a corner kick.
The Jayhawks tied the match in the 41st minute. Castans took a corner kick and passed to Lydia Viets who fed Johnston in the box, where she drilled the ball to the far left post and into the goal to tie the game at 1-1. The game was even at the half.
“I’m just trying to help our team out the best I can,” Castans, a junior from Flower Mound, Texas, said. “I think one of my strengths are my crosses, so I’m just trying to put the ball in dangerous places and my team is doing a great job at finishing them.”
Watts in the second half passed from the far side of the field to Gregorski at the top of the box where she fed Castans for a shot on goal. A save was made, but the rebound flew to the middle of the 6-yard box for Gregorski to tap in the game-winning goal with a little over eight minutes to play.
“I could see Caroline running on my back shoulder,” said Gregorski, a sophomore from Weathersfield, Connecticut. ”I just tried to get the ball to her because I knew she’s wide open. Then like she always does, she hits a clean strike, the goalkeeper saves it, and I’m just lucky to be there in the right spot to finish it.”
Four minutes later, Livvy Moore controlled possession of the ball at midfield and sent a through ball to Watts, a senior out of St. James Academy, who beat the goalkeeper to the far right post in the 86th minute.
Kansas had seven shots on goal to the Cardinals’ three.
More about KU Jayhawks women’s soccer
The Jayhawks are 9-2-1 in games played away from Lawrence. … KU’s 16 wins are the fourth most in school history. … Kansas drew 10 corner kicks, the most in an NCAA Tournament match in program history. … Castans has four assists in the 2025 NCAA Tourney fourth assist of the NCAA Tournament, which is the most by a Kansas player in one tournament run. … Gregorski has 18 career goals.
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 8:56 PM.
