KU Soccer Hits the Road for Two Big 12 Contests

Oct. 12, 2005

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

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The University of Kansas soccer team will hit the road for two Big 12 matches this weekend. KU will face Texas Tech on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. The Jayhawks will then face Colorado Sunday, Oct. 16 at 2 p.m.

QUICK KICKS
-Fans can listen to Friday’s match against Texas Tech live on the internet at
www.TexasTech.com.

-After scoring four goals last weekend, including a hat trick against Oklahoma State, senior Jessica Smith was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.

-Jessica Smith became the sixth player in KU history to record a hat trick.

-Freshman goalkeeper Julie Hanley received her first Big 12 starts last weekend and responded with two victories, including a two save shutout of #21 Oklahoma.

-The Jayhawks 15 assists during conference games leads the Big 12. Junior Holly Gault’s four assists in conference play is tied for first among Big 12 players.

-The Jayhawks are 5-0-1 on Friday’s and 6-0-0 when they take a lead into halftime.

-KU’s night match against Tech will be its second match under the lights this season.

-The Jayhawks have won five of its last six contests against the Red Raiders.

ABOUT TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders enter the weekend looking for their first conference victory of the season. After defeating Sam Houston State in overtime on Aug. 30, Tech has dropped its last ten matches including being shutout in four consecutive.
Senior Kimmie Davis leads the Red Raiders on offense with six goals this season. Kim Cypert is second with two goals scored. Megan Knauss has established herself as Tech’s top goalkeeper.

ABOUT COLORADO
The Buffaloes will host Missouri on Friday before facing KU on Sunday. CU’s goalkeeper Jessica Keller is the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week after recording shutouts last weekend against Texas and Northern Colorado. Keller carries a 1.05 GAA and has made 45 saves this season.
Fran Munnelly tops CU in goals scored with eight. Kate Griffin follows Munnelly with six goals, including two game-winning tallies. CU has out-scored its opponent 21-15 this season and holds a 5-1-0 record at home this year.

CHANGING OF THE SEASONS
When the weather outside cools down, senior Jessica Smith’s game heats up. Of the Wichita, Kan., natives 16 career goals (fifth all-time at KU), 14 have come during the months of October and November. As a freshman in 2002, Smith scored all seven of her goals after the first of October. This season, all four of her goals have come in October.
Career Comparison:
Year Aug.-Sept. Oct.-Nov. Total
2002 0 7 7
2003 1 0 1
2004 1 3 4
2005 0 4 4
Total 2 14 16

NINE LIVES
Caroline Smith’s assist on Jessica Smith’s third goal against Oklahoma State was the 20th of her career, placing her alone atop KU’s all-time assist category. The career assists category is the ninth KU career or single season record the senior from Edina, Minn., owns.

LAST TIME OUT
KU got two solid wins last weekend against Oklahoma State and #21 Oklahoma at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. Jessica Smith tallied a hat trick in KU’s 4-1 victory over OSU on Friday. Emily Strinded scored her second goal of the season on a penalty kick.
Caroline Smith, Jessica Smith and Michelle Rasmussen each scored goals and freshman Julie Hanley recorded her third career shutout in KU’s 3-0 victory over Oklahoma. Jessica Smith’s goal was her fourth of the weekend and earned her Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week accolades.

TUBE TIME
The Jayhawks Oct. 23 home match against the University of Texas will be broadcast by College Sports Television (channel 143 on Sunflower digital cable) 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 115-76-9 (.598) career record and an ever-improving 82-52-8 (.606) 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.

BUSH HONORED BY BIG 12
Freshman Jessica Bush was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4 after compiling game-winning goals against Missouri State (Aug. 31) and Arkansas (Sept. 2). The Blue Springs, Mo., native recorded five shots on goal during the two matches.

FRESH FACES
KU freshmen class of Jessica Bush, Missy Geha, Kristin Graves, Julie Hanley, Jenny Murtaugh and Sara Rogers have been solid contributors to the 2005 squad. Bush, Geha and Murtaugh have started all of KU’s matches this season. Below is a look at some of the contribution the Jayhawk freshman have had on the field.
Matches started 51
Matches played 70
Goals 6
Assists 4
Game-winning goals 5