There was a ceremonial first kick, an entrance featuring flames and a crowd of more than 2,400 people as the Kansas State women’s soccer program played it’s first-ever home game on Friday.
The Wildcats lost the debut match at the K-State Soccer Complex to Northern Iowa, 2-1, but the historic moment almost seemed to overshadow the game itself.
The team took the field through an inflatable arch with the K-State emblem flanked by pyrotechnics on each side. Athletic director John Currie, senior associate athletic director for compliance Lindsey Babcock and head coach Mike Dibbini each kicked a ball to a Wildcat captain to officially mark the start of K-State women’s soccer in Manhattan.