Jayhawks Wrap Up Weekend at Baylor

Oct. 17, 2009

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The Kansas soccer team will play its final road match of the 2009 regular season Sunday when it takes on the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas. The Jayhawks and Bears will renew their rivalry at 1 p.m. at the Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.

Gametracker will be available with live statistical updates for the match Friday. Fans can find a link to Gametracker at www.kuathletics.com. Baylor also offers a free audio broadcast of its home matches, which are available at www.baylorbears.com.

About the Jayhawks

Kansas earned a 2-1 victory at Oklahoma Friday night to improve to 2-4 in Big 12 play. After starting the conference schedule with three-straight losses, the Jayhawks have gone 2-1 in its last three matches. Five of KU’s six Big 12 contests have been decided by one goal.

KU’s offense has averaged 2.19 goals per game, while the team is allowing its opponents just 1.31 goals per game. Sophomore Emily Cressy leads the team with seven goals this season, including the game-winner Friday at OU, while sophomore Whitney Berry is tops with seven assists. Senior goalkeeper Julie Hanley has posted a 1.39 goals against average and a .717 save percentage with two shutouts.

Last Time Out

Sophomore Emily Cressy’s goal in the 73rd minute broke a one-all tie and powered Kansas to a 2-1 triumph over Oklahoma Friday night at John Crain Soccer Field. KU dominated the pace of play for most of the evening, but it took a second half goal by Cressy to give them the win.

Scouting the Bears

Baylor enters Sunday’s tilt with the Jayhawks at 6-4-4 overall, and 2-3-2 in the Big 12 conference. With eight points in league play, the Bears are tied for sixth-place, just two points ahead of KU. Baylor is 2-2-2 at home this season.

Baylor’s offense is led by junior Lotto Smith’s seven goals and 15 points, while Hanna Gilmore and Dana Larsen are tied for the team lead with four assists each. The Bears offense has averaged 1.36 goals per match this season and 0.86 goals per match in conference contests. In goal, Guianna Quintana has started all 16 matches for BU. The second-year keeper has posted a 1.02 goals against average and a .782 save percentage with two shutouts.

Kansas leads the all-time series with Baylor, 6-5 with two ties. KU is winless in Waco, however, going 0-3-2 at the Bears’ home field, including a 2-2 tie to open Big 12 play in 2007.

Jayhawk-Bear Connections

  • Kansas senior Shannon McCabe and Baylor senior Beckah Brady were teammates on several clubs in Tulsa, Okla. The pair both played four years at Jenks High School, and also played for the Tulsa Soccer Club ’88 and ODP soccer at the state level.
  • Kansas goalkeeper Kat Liebetrau and Baylor midfielder Christine Clark were teammates with the Colorado state ODP program. Liebetrau and Baylor’s Larissa Campos both grew up in Centennial, Colo., and are both products of the Real Colorado club program, however, they were never teammates.
  • KU’s Nicole Chrisopulos and BU’s Chelsea Geller were teammates for several years with the Dallas Texans club program.
  • Kansas junior Katie Williams and the Bears’ Lotto Smith were teammates at the ODP level for both the South Texas as well as the Region III clubs. Williams is also a product of the Challenge soccer club in the Houston area, along with Baylor’s Hanna Gilmore, Megan Humke and Katie White. However, she was never teammates with the group of Bears.
  • The Jayhawks’ Alex Winchester and Baylor’s Bethany Johnston were teammates for one season on the D’Feeters club team.
  • Kansas head coach Mark Francis and Baylor’s head coach Marci Jobson are both graduates of SMU, however, their time at the school did not overlap.

Berry, Berry Good

Freshman forward Whitney Berry has been KU’s top performer in Big 12 play this season. The first-year forward has been involved in six of the Jayhawks’ nine goals during the conference season, scoring three and assisting on three others.

She is tied for second in the Big 12 in assists (seven), and is tied for fifth in points (17).

Berry has upped her performance in recent weeks, tallying points in five of her last six matches, including a two-goal match against Texas Tech on Oct. 9. Her five points against the Red Raiders match the season-high by a Jayhawk this season, and the most by a Kansas player in a Big 12 match since Monica Dolinsky’s six-point game at Missouri in 2006.

Back in the Saddle

After missing five-straight weekends with an injury, senior forward Shannon McCabe returned to the Jayhawk lineup on Oct. 9 and played 31 minutes. She also made her first start in more than six weeks in Oct. 16’s win at Oklahoma.

McCabe accounted for just over 18 percent of the team’s offense last season (nine goals, five assists) and had a goal and an assist in the first two matches of the 2009 season.

Corner Kicks

  • Kansas hits the road for the final weekend away from the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. So far this year, KU is 3-3-1 away from home.
  • The Jayhawks fell to Colorado on Oct. 11, snapping the team’s six-match winning streak at home. The streak dated back to Oct. 24 of last season.
  • Kansas freshman Shelby Williamson recorded her first two assists of the season in Friday night’s win at Oklahoma. Williamson, who did not have an assist prior to Friday, became the fourth Jayhawk to record a multiple assist match this season.
  • Sophomore Emily Cressy tallied her seventh goal of the season in the 2-1 win over OU. It was the forward’s first goal since a Sept. 18 tally against San Diego.
  • Cressy has made her team-leading seven goals count as four of them have decided games. The second-year forward has eight game-winning goals in her career, which ties for third-most in KU history.
  • Senior Kim Boyer collected two assists in the match against Texas Tech. The senior forward/defender came off the bench for the first time this season, and aided in two of the Jayhawks’ three second-half goals.
  • The Jayhawks’ three second-half goals in the Texas Tech match tied the season-high. KU also scored three times in the second half of its 5-0 win over San Diego on Sept. 18, as well as three goals in the first half of a 3-1 win over Long Beach State on Sept. 4.
  • Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kat Liebetrau set a career high with six saves in the win over Texas Tech on Oct. 9. The six stops also matched the most by any Jayhawk keeper this season.
  • Kansas outshot Colorado, 20-7 in a 1-0 loss on Oct. 11. It marked the second time this season that KU has tallied 20 shots in a match and been shut out. The Jayhawks recorded 22 shots in a scoreless tie with Colorado College on Sept. 13.
  • Jumping out to an early lead has been an important key in KU’s success this season. The Jayhawks are 8-2 when scoring the first goal, as well as 6-0 when they hold a lead at the half.
  • Kansas ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring margin, outscoring its opponents by an average of 0.87 goals per match.

Up Next
Kansas will complete the regular season with three-straight matches at the friendly confines of the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. The Jayhawks will open their final homestand of the 2009 season with Nebraska on Friday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. Gametracker will provide live statistical updates for the match on www.kuathletics.com.

Kansas will complete the regular season with three-straight matches at the friendly confines of the Jayhawk Soccer Complex. The Jayhawks will open their final homestand of the 2009 season with Nebraska on Friday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. Gametracker will provide live statistical updates for the match on www.kuathletics.com.