Jayhawks Open Conference Play in Texas

Sept. 25, 2007

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The Kansas soccer team travels to Baylor and Texas A&M this weekend to open its Big 12 schedule. The Jayhawks will meet the Bears on Friday at 7 p.m. at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field and the third-ranked Aggies Sunday at 1 p.m. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

About the Jayhawks
Kansas claimed its first victory of the season last 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 1-7-1 on the season with four of those losses coming to nationally ranked opponents, including a pair last weekend against 25th-ranked Illinois (2-1) and 19th-ranked California (1-0). KU returns nine starters and 18 letterwinners from last year’s squad, which finished 11-7-1.

KU Matches Available on CSTV All-Access
Both of KU’s matches this week will be carried on CSTV’s All-Access. An audio broadcast will be provided by baylorbears.com on Friday, while aggieathletics.com will host a link with a live video feed from Sunday’s contest. Both services are free of charge, but require a one-time sign-up for a free account with CSTV.

Scouting the Bears

Baylor enters conference play with a 6-2-1 overall record, including a perfect 4-0 mark at home. The Bears knocked off Iona (4-0) and Delaware (2-1 in overtime) this past weekend.

Senior Megan Sherrell leads the Baylor offense with five goals and seven assists this year, while three other players, Jessica Hutton, Beckah Brady and Lotto Smith each have four goals. Senior goalkeeper Ashley Noah has started all nine matches and has a 1.23 goals against average, a .787 save percentage and a 6-1-1 record.

Head coach George Van Linder is in his fifth year at Baylor and has a record of 30-44-8 at the school and 123-91-19 overall in 11-plus seasons as a college head coach. Van Linder’s team returns 10 starters and 22 letterwinners from last year’s squad, which finished 6-12-1 and placed eighth in the Big 12. The schools have each won five meetings in the series with one tie, however, KU has won each of the previous four matches, dating back to 2003. The Jayhawks claimed a 1-0 triumph on Oct. 20, 2006 in the latest meeting. Kansas has not played in Waco since 2002, which is the last time Baylor earned a victory in the series.

Baylor on the internet: www.baylorbears.cstv.com

Scouting the Aggies

Texas A&M begins conference play in a familiar spot, tied for first in the Big 12. The two-time defending conference champions posted a 6-1-1 mark in their early season non-conference matches and earned a No. 3 ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll.

Senior forward Ashlee Pistorius leads the Aggies’ offense with eight goals and two assists this season, while freshman Rachel Shipley is tops on the team in assists, with three. Sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Arnold has started all eight matches an owns an 0.53 goals against average and an .852 save percentage with three shut outs this season.

Texas A&M head coach G. Guerrieri is in his 15th season with the Aggies and has a record of 243-70-14. Guerrieri’s team returns 11 starters and 15 letterwinners from last year’s squad, which advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals last season. The Aggies lead the all-time series with Kansas, 9-1 with one tie, including a 1-0 overtime triumph at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex on Oct. 8 last season. KU’s lone win in the series came on Oct. 22, 2004 in College Station.

Texas A&M on the internet: www.aggieathletics.com

Last Time Out

Junior Jessica Bush collected three shots, while senior goalkeeper Colleen Quinn made four saves, however it was not enough. Katherine Daiss’ goal in the 66th minute powered 19th-ranked California to a 1-0 triumph over Kansas Sunday in a non-conference soccer match at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

Kansas matched the 19th-ranked Bears shot for shot, but fell on a second half tally. In the 66th minute, forward Torrey Delaplane made a long run down the near sideline and crossed the ball to the middle of the box where Daiss deflected it in to the left side of the net.

Cauz and Effect

Senior midfielder Nicole Cauzillo started all three matches last week and recorded her first goal of the season in the 2-1 loss to No. 25 Illinois. For Cauzillo, who has battled injuries throughout her collegiate career, it marked her first points since her sophomore season at KU and her first goal since 2004.

During her first season at KU, Cauzillo tallied four goals and four assists, including a pair of game-winners.

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 Sept. 18 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.

Bringing Out the Best

This weekend’s contest with No. 3 Texas A&M will mark the fifth time this season that the Jayhawks have met a nationally ranked opponent and its second ranked in the top five. KU has played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation. The combined record of the team’s 20 opponents is 89-43-22 (.649). KU’s third non-conference opponent, BYU (6-0-2), has not allowed a goal this season, while Portland (7-1), Texas A&M (6-1-1), Oklahoma State (6-1-1), Texas (6-1-1) and Iowa State (4-1-2) all enter the week with just one defeat.

Quick Kicks

– Kansas will face Baylor in Waco for the first time since the 2002 season. Due to a scheduling quirk, the Bears made four straight trips to Kansas (playing in Lawrence three times and Topeka once), dropping all four matches.

– Head Coach Mark Francis is 5-2-1 against the Bears at KU.

– KU’s trip to College Station on Sunday will mark the fifth time that the Jayhawks have faced Texas A&M while the Aggies have been ranked in the top 10. It will also mark the second time KU has played a team ranked in the top five this season, the most since 2003.

– Junior goalkeeper Julie Hanley saw her first action of the 2007 season in Friday’s loss to No. 25 Illinois. Hanley, who started every match in 2006, made a save in 27 minutes between the posts Friday.

– Senior defender Kelsey Archuleta played a season-high 30 minutes in the Sept. 18 triumph over MissouriState. Sophomore Kim Boyer and freshman Katie Williams played all 92 minutes Tuesday to set career highs.

– Junior Jessica Bush has scored the game-winning goal in each of KU’s last two contests against Baylor, both 1-0 victories. In both instances, former Jayhawk Holly Gault was credited with an assist. Junior Missy Geha collected an assist on the game-winning goal last season.

– Both senior Colleen Quinn (2005) and junior Julie Hanley (2006) own shutouts against the Bears in their careers.

– Senior Emily Strinden is the only current member of the Jayhawks who has a point against Texas A&M, collecting an assist in the teams’ 2005 meeting.

Looking Ahead

Kansas will continue its travels next weekend with trips to Des Moines, Iowa and Lubbock, Texas. The Jayhawks will face Drake in their final non-conference match of the season on Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. KU will then travel to Texas Tech for a 1 p.m. Big 12 match on Oct. 7.