A grand start for emerging star

Of course KU junior Jillian Gregorski would love to score a goal or two in every game she plays this season. But she’s more excited about the fact that she doesn’t have to. 

After finishing last season second on the team with 10 goals — one behind now-graduated forward Lexi Watts — Gregorski has her eyes on an even bigger season in Year 3 with the program. 

But that’s not just through her eyes. KU coach Nate Lie sees that on the horizon, as well, and it’s as much for her all-around game and comfort within the program as her ability as a goal scorer. 

Make no mistake about it, though; Gregorski can score with the best of them. And the gains she’s made in other areas during the offseason merely make her a more lethal option in the Jayhawks’ attack.

That much was clear on Wednesday night, during 15th-ranked KU’s 2-0 win over Utah State in the season opener at Rock Chalk Park. 

Gregorski scored the team’s first goal of the season in the most Jillian Gregorski way possible. Call it an opportunistic finish. 

“I was kind of in the mix, it got crossed, kind of deflected and fell to me,” she said matter-of-factly after the win. “I knew if I got anything on it, the goalie was kind of blinded and it would be a much harder save for her and I was lucky it went in.” 

Luck? Sure. So far as it’s lucky for Kansas that Gregorski is wearing a Jayhawk uniform. 

After two strong seasons as part of the team’s supporting cast, Gregorski appears to be fully prepared to take her game and her role to another level this season. 

And scoring a goal on opening night is a hell of a way to get this new chapter started. 

“I’ve been telling people on record, I've been telling people off record, she looks very sharp, she looks very assured, she looks very hungry; she knows that we’re counting on her,” Lie said after Wednesday’s victory. “Not that we have to rely on her, but she’s a personality player for us. She was and has been but (we) probably need her to continue to grow in that arc.” 

It certainly appears as if she’s ready. And you don’t need to see the tally in the “goals scored” column to know that.

Watching her play 65 high-impact minutes on Wednesday night, it was clear that Gregorski has taken her game to a new level. She was often the first to the ball in the center midfield area, no matter which side of midfield she was on. And it was as if she made her decisions about what to do with the ball when she got it before it even reached her feet. 

Her five shots on the night (2 on goal) almost matched the total of the entire Utah State team, which finished with 6.

There was even a little extra flash and flare that wasn’t always there in the past. Late in the second half, with KU still looking to fully separate, she flipped a past with her heel into the box while facing away from the net. The ball didn’t get through but it was close. And she knew it. 

While Gregorski’s first goal of the season was an important one, she probably could have — maybe even should have — had one or two more. 

After the goal that put KU ahead 1-0, she ripped a shot in the box that easily would’ve gone in if it had not hit a Utah State defender. And in the second half, with KU looking for separation, her perfectly placed shot from the top of the box to the right post actually looked in before it somehow popped out. 

“That one off the post, I can’t believe it didn’t go in,” Lie said. “She took that so well and did everything we tell the players to do. I’m glad she found her goal; I think she’ll find quite a few this year.” 

Added Gregorski of the odd shot that hit the post, rolled along the goal line for a few feet and then spun back out into the field of play: “It was a great strike. I saw it hit the post and thought, this could be interesting; it could go in and could go out. Sometimes the posts don’t like you, but that means something might be coming in the future.” 

Something definitely is. And that something is more Gregorski in some form or fashion. 

“My mindset is only (on) how can I help the team,” the humble KU star said Wednesday night. “I know one of my strengths is I can put the ball in the back of the net. I think that’s what our team needs and that’s how we win.”

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