For the fourth and fifth times this season, the Wildcats had a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decision go against them.

Rain fell throughout much of the night at Buser Family Park as K-State and Arizona battled through a physical match on Sept. 24. The Wildcats had two first-half penalty appeals sent to review after apparent handballs inside Arizona’s penalty area, but both reviews upheld the original no-call. K-State went into halftime scoreless despite controlling much of the match, then took a 1-0 lead through Gabby DeMers in the second half. Arizona answered minutes later to force a 1-1 draw.

The two reviews added to a season-long pattern in which VAR has repeatedly intersected with K-State’s biggest moments. Referees overturned two goals against Iowa on Sept. 3, as well as Langley Myers’ goal in K-State’s Big 12 opener against Houston on Sept. 18.

The timing of these decisions has been notable, especially after the purple and white opened the season with a historic run. K-State began the season undefeated through its first eight matches at 5-0-3, marking the program’s first undefeated nonconference season. 

The Wildcats came out aggressively despite playing through rain and a slick field. Rilyn Rintoul recorded the first shot just 32 seconds into the match, and Lauren Moylan delivered K-State’s first corner kick in the fifth minute.

Despite the Wildcats continuing to push into Arizona’s defensive third, Arizona’s aggressive, physical defense made K-State work for every opportunity. The Wildcats’ best chances of the first half came inside the Arizona penalty area. In the 25th minute, DeMers attempted a cross that appeared to strike an Arizona defender’s hand. K-State challenged the no-call, but the referee’s decision stood following VAR review.

Fifteen minutes later, the Wildcats challenged again after Rintoul’s shot following a corner kick appeared to hit another Arizona defender’s hand inside the box. Once again, the original no-call stood. 

Head coach Colleen Corbin said the explanation she received on the second play was that the defender was already retracting her hand toward her body. 

“Obviously, in those moments, we’re going to have to continue to challenge them because those are goal-scoring moments, and at the end of the day, the referee makes the call, and we have to be okay with it,” Corbin said.

K-State entered halftime with a 9-3 advantage in shots and held Arizona without a shot on goal. The Wildcats carried that offensive pressure into the second half and finally broke through in the 55th minute. 

McKinnan Braswell sent a ball from the left sideline toward the middle of the field, where DeMers controlled it before firing a shot from 20 yards into the left side of the net. The goal was DeMers’ fifth of the season and sixth of her career. It was also her first goal in Big 12 play. 

The connection between DeMers and Braswell was central to K-State’s attack throughout the match. Braswell said she trusted her forwards to make something happen when she sent the ball toward the middle. 

“I see purple in front of me, and I’m hoping someone can go and win it,” Braswell said. “And of course, I can always count on Gabby to go run through the ball and get something in the back of the net.”

Arizona answered just 2:34 later when Lainey Swanson found Allyson Brown, who scored inside the left post to tie it 1-1.

K-State kept creating chances after the equalizer. Rilyn Rintoul finished with a team-high six shots and four shots on goal, while McKinnan Braswell added four shots and two shots on goal. Kennedy Miller also hit the woodwork. The Wildcats finished with a 20-10 advantage in total shots and a 9-3 edge in shots on goal. 

Cortes-Browne made seven saves to keep K-State from finding a second goal.

“I continue to be bummed out for the kids that we’re not walking away with three points after putting together what I’ve received to be a really, really solid performance,” Corbin said. “I thought our energy, our intensity, our competitiveness was really, really good.”

K-State moved to 5-1-4 overall and 0-1-1 in Big 12 play with the draw — the fourth draw of the year for the ‘Cats, which is the second-most in a single season in program history. The Wildcats will return to Buser Family Park at noon on Sept. 27 to host Arizona State. The game will stream on ESPN+.