FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas Razorbacks coach Colby Hale could only describe his star midfielder’s play in the team’s 5-1 win Friday night in two words.
“On fire,” he said.
Junior Kayla McKeon powered the Razorbacks to five first-half goals over the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans, building off a strong performance in the SEC Tournament a week ago.
McKeon recorded two assists and a goal in the match after she found both Taylor Malham and Tori Cannata for scores early against the Trojans.
With the win, Arkansas advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which is the farthest the team’s gone in their past three playoff appearances.
Hale was impressed with how aggressively the Razorbacks attacked on offense, scoring three goals within the match’s first 13 minutes. He compared the pure domination to the team’s win over Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament this season.
Freshman Tyler Runnels scored her first goal of the season at the 41-minute mark of the match to give the Hogs a 5-0 lead headed into the half. Runnels was one of five true freshmen to receive significant playing time of 30 or more minutes, giving them some valuable playoff experience, Hale said.
“You could tell there were some nerves there, some missed assignments on set pieces, but we’ll use that video to help them grow,” Hale said.
The Hogs will also need to work on some defensive set pieces before the next round, said Hale who did not like how Arkansas closed out the match.
Little Rock kept Arkansas from getting its ninth shutout out the season after defender Liesa Siefert scored off a header in the second period, which would be the only goal by either team with. Morgan Smocovich set up Siefert for the goal off a cross.
The Trojans struggled to stop Arkansas’ attack early enough before the team could settle into the game and get the offense going, UALR coach Mark Foster said.
“You’re hoping for us to play our best game and that Arkansas had an off night,” Foster said.
“Arkansas is too professional to have an off night.”
The Razorbacks will play Virginia Tech (10-7-3) in the second round on a date and at a site to be determined. The Hokies defeated No. 4-seed Texas 1-0 on Friday in Austin, Texas.