Kansas Soccer Begins 2004 Season This Weekend

Aug. 27, 2004

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Kansas soccer team kicks off the 2004 regualar season this weekend when it takes on UNLV on Saturday, Aug. 28, in Las Vegas, Nev., and BYU on Monday, Aug. 30, in Provo Utah.

The No. 17 Jayhawks are coming off the best season in school-history after posting a 18-6-1 record and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2003. The team has already garnered several preseason honors. KU is ranked in the top 25 of all three major women’s soccer polls heading into the season. The team will be led offensively by returning All-America performer Caroline Smith, who comes into her junior season as the program’s all-time leader in goals, points, shots and game-winning goals, as well as seniors Monica Brothers and Rachel Gilfillan, who each rank in the top five in program history in point scored. Defensively, KU will be paced by Stacy Leeper, who had collected 46 starts during her three-year career and Holly Gault, who was named preseason All-Big 12 after being select to the SoccerBuzz magazine Freshman All-America Second Team in 2003. In goal, Meghan Miller returns for her senior season as the all-time leader at Kansas in wins, goals-against-average and shutouts.

The UNLV Rebels enter season with seven starters and 19 letterwinners returning from last season’s squad which posted a 9-9-3 record and a fifth place finish in the Mountain West Conference with a 2-4 mark. Forward/midfielder Annii Magliulo returns for her senior season after leading the Rebels in goals (8), assists (5) and points (21) in 2003. Junior goalkeeper Jenna Huff registered a 8-8-2 record last season while posting a 1.09 goals against average with 112 saves. The Jayhawks and Rebels start the 2004 season at 9 p.m. CST at Peter Johann Memorial Field in Las Vegas, Nev. KU holds a 1-0-1 record in the all-time series with UNLV.

On Monday, the Jayhawks will face a BYU team that returns its top four players from 2003 — Krissa Campbell-Reinbold, Jaime Rendich, Charlene Lui and Claire Thomas. Last season, the Cougars finished the season 16-7-3 and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. BYU returns seven starters and 16 letterwinners. The only other meeting between BYU and KU was in the 2001 NCAA Tournament, when the Cougars bounced the Jayhawks from their first ever postseason appearance 1-0 in the tournament’s opening round. The BYU match is set for a 3 p.m. start from South Field on the BYU campus.