⚽ MATCH PREVIEW: at Kansas State

MATCH 3 – at KANSAS STATE

Date: Friday, Oct. 2
Location: Manhattan, Kan.
Stadium: Buser Family Park
Kickoff: 7 p.m. (CT)
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Ticket Information: K-State tickets

LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 6 Kansas plays its second road game of the season when the Jayhawks travel west 74 miles to Manhattan, Kansas, to play Kansas State Friday, Oct. 2, in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown. Kickoff from Buser Family Park is slated for 7 p.m. (CT) on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Brian Smoller and Oscar Montenegro calling the action.

Kansas is 2-0-0 for the third-straight season after its 1-0 win against Big 12 preseason favorite Texas Tech on Sept. 25 at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kan. Senior Kathryn Castro boomed a 30-yard goal for the lone score of the Texas Tech contest. Freshman defender Kate Dreyer earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week anchoring a defense that allowed nine shots with four shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Sarah Peters recorded her 22nd shutout and 32nd win for KU. Castro was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week, while Peters was a TDS Honorable Mention honoree.

Kansas State is 0-2-0 on the season and No. 6 Kansas will be the third-straight top 10-ranked opponent for the Wildcats. K-State lost to current-No. 4 Oklahoma State, 3-0, at home on Sept. 12, and fell at current-No. 7 West Virginia, 4-1, on Sept. 18. Kansas State averages 6.5 shots per game and 1.5 shots on goal. Senior midfielder Brookelynn Entz scored the lone goal for the Wildcats in her first action of the season at West Virginia (9/18). Senior midfielder Maddie Souder and sophomore defender Silke Bonnen are the only other K-State players who have posted a shot on goal through two games. Freshman goalkeeper Alaina Werremeyer has 10 saves through two games and has allowed seven goals.

QUICK KICKS

• Kansas moved up three spots to No. 6 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll released Sept. 29. The No. 6 ranking ties the highest rank in KU history with Week 7 of the 2004 season.
• Kansas is one of four Big 12 teams ranked by the coaches, along with No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 7 West Virginia and No. 12 TCU.
• Kansas is 2-0-0 for the third-straight season and eighth time under head coach Mark Francis who is in his 22nd season at KU. The Jayhawks are looking to go 3-0-0 for the third-consecutive season after going 3-0-0 in 2018 and 4-0-0 in 2019.
• Kansas has won or tied its last 11 matches against Big 12 opponents dating back to Oct. 10, 2019. The Jayhawks are 8-0-3 and have outscored their league foes 16-to-5 during that span, which included the 2019 Big 12 Championship title. The stretch is the longest in program history.
• After its 1-0 win over Texas Tech on Sept. 25, Kansas now has a victory over every Big 12 squad in the last calendar year.
• Kansas leads the all-time series with the Kansas State 2-1-0 and has won the last two meetings.
• Freshman Kate Dreyer was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 29 after KU shutout league preseason favorite Texas Tech, 1-0, Sept. 25. Senior midfielder Kathryn Castro’s goal against the Red Raiders tabbed her on the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week and goalkeeper Sarah Peters was a TDS Honorable Mention honoree.
• Senior midfielder Ceri Holland was the National Player of the Week as named by TopDrawerSoccer on Sept. 15. Holland netted the game winner in KU’s 1-0 win over Texas on Sept. 11. She was joined by Peters and Dreyer, who were given honorable mention honors on TDS’s Team of the Week.
• Both Holland and Peters were also honored on the Big 12’s first weekly awards Sept. 15. Holland was picked as the league’s Offensive Player of the Week, while Peters was named the conference Goalkeeper of the Week after her shutout performance against Texas (Sept. 11).

UP NEXT

The Jayhawks will continue their two-game road swing at Baylor, Friday, Oct. 9. KU and BU will kick off from Waco, Texas, at 7 p.m., and the match will be broadcast live via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Kansas has a slight series edge against Baylor, 12-11-2, and KU is 6-2-0 versus BU since 2013. BU holds a 6-2-2 advantage against KU in matches in Waco.