Kansas Takes On No. 25 Illinois, No. 19 Cal
Sept. 20, 2007
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<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas Takes On No. 25 Illinois, No. 19 Cal
Kansas will look to continue its winning ways this weekend with a pair of non-conference matches against No. 25 Illinois and No. 19 California at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. KU will face the Fighting Illini at 5 p.m. Friday before hosting the Golden Bears Sunday at 1 p.m. This will mark the Jayhawks’ final weekend of play outside the Big 12 Conference. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
About the Jayhawks
Kansas claimed its first victory of the season Tuesday over MissouriState, 1-0 in overtime. Sophomore Kim Boyer tallied the golden goal in the second minute of the extra period. The Jayhawks are 1-5-1 on the season with two of those losses coming to nationally ranked opponents. KU returns nine starters and 18 letterwinners from last year’s squad, which finished 11-7-1.
Scouting the Fighting Illini
Illinois enters the weekend on a two-match winning streak after knocking off then-No. 9 Florida last weekend in Champaign. The Fighting Illini have outscored their last four opponents by a 12-4 margin after falling to Missouri in their season opener.
Senior forward Ella Masar leads the team with four goals and nine points, while three Illinois midfielders, Marti Desjarlais, Courtney Bell and Danielle Kot are tied for the team lead with two assists each. Senior goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens has started all five matches for the Illini and has a 1.46 goals against average and a .708 save percentage with a pair of shutouts.
Head coach Janet Rayfield is in her sixth season in Illinois and has a record of 72-38-8 with the Illini. Rayfield’s squad returns nine starters and 13 letterwinners from last year’s team, which finished 16-8 and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois leads the all-time series with Kansas, 3-0, including a 1-0 triumph in Champaign on Sept. 14, 2004. KU is 4-8-1 all-time against Big Ten schools.
Illinois on the internet: www.fightingillini.cstv.com
Scouting the Golden Bears
Cal enters the weekend with a 5-1 mark after defeating San DiegoState Sunday. The Golden Bears’ only set back of the season came on Sept. 14 at Cal State Fullerton in overtime. The Bears, who will face Missouri on Friday evening, will be making their first trip of the season out of the state of California.
Senior forward Stephanie Wieger leads Cal’s offense with two goals and two assists this season, while two other players, seniors Caitlin Hannegan and Caroline Lea, each have two goals. The Bears have used three different goalkeepers this season with sophomore Gina Pellegrini seeing the most time. The 5-foot-8 keeper has a 0.53 goals against average and an .833 save percentage in 338 minutes this year.
Head coach Neil McGuire is in his first season at Cal and has the team off to an impressive start. McGuire inherited a team that returns seven starters and 17 letterwinners from last year’s squad, which finished 12-5-5 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Cal took a 1-0 decision from the Jayhawks in Berkeley last season in the only previous meeting between the teams. KU is 1-3 all-time against the Pac 10.
California on the internet: www.calbears.cstv.com.
Last Time Out
Kim Boyer’s timing couldn’t have been better. The sophomore forward’s first career goal off a Jessica Bush cross powered Kansas past Missouri State, 1-0 in overtime Tuesday evening at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
Boyer’s goal capped a pretty display of passing by the Jayhawks in the second minute of overtime. Sophomore Shannon McCabe started the play, sending a long ball down the near sideline to junior Jessica Bush. The junior forward made a move around her defender and sent a cross to the middle of the box where Boyer used the top of her foot to direct the ball past the keeper in the 92nd minute.
Kim Possible
Sophomore Kim Boyer is no stranger to scoring big points for the Jayhawks in her young career. The 5-foot-10 forward scored the game-winning goal, her first career tally, on Tuesday to lift Kansas to its first victory of the season.
Boyer has a goal and two assists in her career. Her first collegiate assist came on the game-tying goal in KU’s come-from-behind triumph over then-No. 12 Duke on Sept. 10, 2006. Her other assist lifted the team to an early 1-0 edge over Pepperdine last season.
Monster against Missouri
Junior midfielder Jessica Bush collected an assist on Kim Boyer’s game-winning goal against MissouriState Tuesday. Scoring points against a school from her native state is nothing new for the Kansas junior. Bush has three goals and and two assists (eight points) in four career matches against Missouri and MissouriState, all Kansas victories.
The junior has game-winning goals in two of those contests, as well as an assist on the game-winning goal last Tuesday.
Starting Something?
Tuesday’s win over MissouriState marked the fifth time since 1999 that the Jayhawks have defeated the Bears in a regular season match up. In each of the previous four seasons, a win over MissouriState has started a KU winning-streak, including a season-best six-game winning streak in 2003.
Bringing Out the Best
This weekend’s contests with No. 25 Illinois and No. 19 California will mark the third and fourth times this season that the Jayhawks have met a nationally ranked opponent. KU has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation. The combined record of the team’s 10 non-league foes is 36-18-5 (.653). No. 16 Brigham Young is the only NCAA Division I women’s team that has not allowed a goal all season.
Quick Kicks
– Friday’s match will mark the first meeting between the Jayhawks and Fighting Illini since 2004. It also marks the first time KU has played host to a Big Ten school since hosting Northwestern to open the 2003 season.
– On Sunday, KU will meet No. 19 Cal as the second part of a home-and-home series that began last season. This marks the first time the Jayhawks have ever hosted a school from the Pac 10.
– Tuesday’s win snapped a four-match losing streak, KU’s longest since the end of the 2002 season.
– Senior goalkeeper Colleen Quinn posted her first shutout of the season Tuesday, making four saves against MissouriState. Its Quinn’s sixth career shutout and first since blanking then-No. 25 Nebraska on Sept. 30, 2005.
– Senior defender Kelsey Archuleta played a season-high 30 minutes in Tuesday’s triumph over MissouriState. Sophomore Kim Boyer and freshman Katie Williams played all 92 minutes Tuesday to set career highs.
– Senior Nicole Cauzillo made her first start since the first contest of the season and played 45 minutes against MissouriState Tuesday.
Looking Ahead
Following its final two non-conference contests of the season at home, KU will travel to the state of Texas to open conference play against Baylor and Texas A&M. The Jayhawks will face the Bears on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in Waco, and the fourth-ranked Aggies at 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 30.
