KU Soccer to Host Oklahoma State and OU This Weekend
Oct. 5, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
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The KU soccer team will host Oklahoma State on Friday, Oct. 7, at 4 p.m. and Oklahoma on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. Both matches will be held at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. The two Oklahoma schools enter the weekend with combined 20-2-2 record.
QUICK HITS
Senior Caroline Smith leads the Big 12 in shots per match with 5.33.
All five on KU’s victories have come on shutouts. Conversely, the Jayhawks have given up three goals in all five of their defeats this season.
Sunday’s match against Oklahoma will be head coach Mark Francis’ 200th career contest. Francis is 113-76-9 in ten seasons as a college head coach.
Oklahoma and Nebraska are the only Big 12 teams without a loss after two weeks of conference play.
Oklahoma State (9.58) and Oklahoma (7.67) are first and second in the Big 12 in points per match this season.
KU has won three consecutive matches against Oklahoma and seven of its past eight against Oklahoma State.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE
The Cowgirls enter this weekend 9-1-2 overall and 2-1-0 in the Big 12. OSU opened the Big 12 season with a 2-0 victory over then #21 Texas. OSU was shutout at Colorado, 1-0, last Friday. OSU and KU’s lone common opponent this season was Wisconsin. The Cowgirls tied the Badgers, 1-1, while KU lost to WU, 3-2, in overtime.
OSU is led defensively by goalkeeper Bettina Grossman. The freshman has twice been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week this season. Offensively, junior Jesyca Rosholt leads OSU and the conference with 11 goals and 27 points.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA
The Sooners enter the weekend atop the Big 12 standings and are the only team without a conference loss this season. Tabbed eighth in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches poll, OU has beat Texas, Texas Tech and Colorado by a combined 6-1 margin. The Sooners only loss this season came against Wisconsin, the same team that beat KU, 3-2, in overtime earlier this year. This weekend will be OU’s first road conference matches.
Savannah Scott leads OU with six goals this season. Lauren MacIver and Allyson Kucera have each chipped in five goal apiece for an OU team that averages 2.34 goals per match. The Sooners defense has a 0.57 goals against average, helped by sophomore Jennifer Nichols who has started all 12 matches in goal.
THIS WEEK IN THE BIG 12
Friday, Oct. 7
Oklahoma State at Kansas 4 p.m.
Nebraska at Baylor 7 p.m.
Colorado at Texas 7 p.m.
Iowa State at Texas A&M 7 p.m.
Oklahoma at Missouri 7 p.m.
Colorado College at Texas Tech 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct.9
Iowa State at Baylor 1 p.m.
Oklahoma at Kansas 1 p.m.
Oklahoma State at Missouri 1 p.m.
Texas Tech at Texas 1 p.m.
Nebraska at Texas A&M 1:30 p.m.
Colorado at Northern Colorado 2 p.m.
TIED AT THE TOP
Caroline Smith is one assist away from claiming sole possession of another KU offensive statistical category. The senior from Edina, Minn., will surpass Hilla Rantala’s 19 career assists with her next helper. The career assists category will be the ninth career or single season record Smith holds.
LAST TIME OUT
The Jayhawks came out of their first conference road trip with a tie and a loss. On Friday, KU played Nebraska to a 0-0 tie. Colleen Quinn recorded her fifth shutout of the season against the Cornhuskers.
KU then suffered a 3-1 loss to Iowa State in Ames. After Kansas tallied four quick shots, Iowa State scored on its first two shots of the match during the 13th minute. Nicole Braman scored KU’s lone goal in the match.
TUBE TIME
The Jayhawks Oct. 23 home match against the University of Texas will be broadcast by College Sports Television on tape delay. The game can been seen on CSTV on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. central time.
HEAD COACH Mark Francis
The winningest soccer coach in KU history, Mark Francis returns for his seventh season as the Jayhawks head coach. Francis owns a 113-76-9 (.593) career record and an ever-improving 80-52-8 (.600) mark at KU. In just six seasons on the job, Francis has four times as many wins as any soccer coach in KU history.
Francis was honored with the 2004 Big 12 Coach of the Year award as well as the Central Region Coach of the Year. He won his 100th career match with a win over Texas Tech on October 1, 2004.
In 2004, the Jayhawks compiled a program-best record of 18-5 on their way to winning KU’s first Big 12 Championship. It was KU’s first women’s Big 12 Championship since the basketball team won the league title in 1997.
