Kansas Soccer to Host Northern Colorado on Senior Day
Oct. 24, 2012
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LAWRENCE, Kan. – In its final contest of the regular season, the Kansas soccer team will host Northern Colorado on Friday, Oct. 26 in a 3 p.m. match. Kansas is already guaranteed a spot in the Big 12 Soccer Championship next week in San Antonio, Texas, but would like to pick up some momentum with a win over the Bears Friday.
Friday’s contest will mark the final home game for KU seniors Whitney Berry, Nicole Chrisopulos, Cassie Dickerson, Amy Grow, Kat Liebetrau, Sarah Robbins and Shelby Williamson. The seven will be honored on the field after the game.
On the Air
Kansas will provide live video and play-by-play coverage of the Jayhawks’ weekend contest on AT&T Jayhawk All-Access. The video feed will be available to All-Access subscribers only, while all fans can tune in to Pete Knutson’s audio coverage. Fans can also follow the action via GameTracker on KUAthletics.com or on Twitter at KU_Soccer.
Series History
The Jayhawks and Bears will meet on the soccer field for the first time on Friday. Kansas has only played one other school from the Big Sky Conference, earning a 1-0 win over Weber State in 1999. KU is 8-11-2 all-time against schools from Colorado.
About the Jayhawks
The Jayhawks are coming off a split weekend that saw them defeat Iowa State, 4-1, Friday and lose to Texas Tech, 3-1, Sunday. Junior Caroline Kastor leads the team in both points (22) and goals (10) while senior Whitney Berry leads the squad and the Big 12 with seven assists. Berry also leads the team in shots with 61 this year.
As a team, the Jayhawks have allowed just over one goal per match and are finding the back of the net 1.67 times per match. The Jayhawks have held their opponents to just 12.1 shots per game and four shots on goal per game. Senior goalkeeper Kat Liebetrau has played in 12 of KU’s matches this year and has started the last three. Liebetrau has a goals against average of 1.07 and a save percentage of .707. She has collected 29 saves on the year and three shutouts.
Scouting the Bears
Northern Colorado is coming off a stretch that has seen it lose only two of its last 10 matches. Last week, UNC wrapped up conference play falling to Idaho State 2-0 and tying Weber State 1-1. Going into the weekend the Bears still had a shot to both host and play in the Big Sky tournament, but were unable to clinch a spot and fell just short of making the tournament due to a tie breaker with Weber State.
The Bears have seen 11 different players score at least one goal this season and are led by junior forward Brittany Dunn, who has scored 12 of Northern Colorado’s 20 goals. Dunn is also the team leader in points and assists with 12 and four, respectively.
The NC defense has held its opponents to one goal per game in 2012 but has allowed five goals in its past nine contests. Northern Colorado’s junior goalkeeper Natalie D’Adamino has played every minute in goal for NC this year and has posted six shutouts. D’Adamino is stopping 81.9 percent of opponent shots on frame this year. She has collected 77 saves and has a .94 goals against average.
Tim Barrera is in his 14th season as the head coach of the Northern Colorado women’s soccer program. Barrera came into 2012 with a 177-153-20 record in his 19-year head-coaching career, and a 117-109-17 record in his first 13 seasons in Greeley. He has more than doubled the previous Northern Colorado record for wins by a soccer head coach.
Last Time Out
Two second half goals by the Red Raiders lifted Texas Tech to a 3-1 triumph over Kansas last Sunday afternoon in Lawrence. Freshman Courtney Dickerson put the Jayhawks on top first with her second goal of the weekend; however, TTU outscored KU 3-0 over the next 75 minutes to hand Jayhawks their fifth conference loss of the year.
Senior Success
Friday’s match with Northern Colorado will mark the final home game for seniors Whitney Berry, Nicole Chrisopulos, Cassie Dickerson, Amy Grow, Kat Liebetrau, Sarah Robbins and Shelby Williamson. The seven Jayhawks have amassed a record of 38-37-5 and have collectively seen minutes in 366 matches from 2009-12.
This group of seniors has also been one of the most productive classes in the program’s history. Combined they have accounted for 36 of the 140 goals the Jayhawks have scored since 2009 and have amassed 44 of the 118 assists in that same span. In other words, at least one of these seniors has been involved in one of three of the Jayhawks’ goals during their careers.
PK Party
The Iowa State match last Friday marked a first in the Kansas soccer program’s history as the Jayhawks were awarded two penalty kicks, the most a KU squad has ever taken in a match. Senior Whitney Berry failed to convert on the first attempt in the 26th minute, however she knocked the second one home in the 51st minute to give Kansas a 3-1 lead.
KU has now converted on 3-of-4 penalty kick opportunities this year. The three successful attempts and the four opportunities tie the program record in both categories, bringing this year’s team level with the 1996 squad, who finished their year with a 3-of-4 mark from the 12-yard spot.
Getting Defensive
Despite giving up four goals last weekend, the Jayhawks still rank among the toughest defensive squads in KU history. Their goals allowed average of 1.12 is the fourth-lowest in program history, behind the 2004 (0.55), 2003 (0.75) and 2006 (0.98) teams. The group is allowing just over 12 shots per game, the lowest average a KU team has had since 2006.
The Jayhawks are also making life easy for their goalkeepers this year, having them face just over four shots on goal per match. If this average holds for the remainder of the season, this team will have allowed the fewest shots on goal in program history, beating out the 2006 team which allowed 92 shots on goal in 19 games.
Whitney in the Record Books
Kansas senior Whitney Berry etched her name in the Kansas record books last weekend in KU’s 4-1 win over Iowa State. Berry’s goal and assist moved her into a tie for second on the all-time Kansas points list with 76. The Wichita, Kan. native ties Monica Dolinksy (2006-09) in the No. 2 spot.
Two weeks ago, Berry recorded two assists to give her the school’s career record for helpers with 31. Her 31 assists moved her past former teammate Monica Dolinsky, who collected 30 from 2006-09. The senior’s 31 assists are also the most among active players in the Big 12 and rank 13th in conference history.
Play Nice
Kansas has proven to be one of the least penalized teams in the Big 12 this season. The Jayhawks have yet to be issued a yellow or red card this year, which makes them the only team in the Big 12 to not have been given a caution this season. The 18-straight caution-less matches is a team record for consecutive games with no cards, beating out the 2010 Jayhawks, who started the season with no cautions or red cards in their first nine matches.
Through 18 matches the Jayhawks are also averaging just 7.82 fouls per match with a total of 142 in 2012, the third fewest in the Big 12.
Odds and Ends
-All but one of Kansas’ seven losses have come by one goal this year.
-Kansas is 9-3-1 against teams outside the top 33 in the RPI rankings this year.
-Freshman Courtney Dickerson scored goals in consecutive games for the first time in her career last weekend.
-KU is 9-1-1 in matches when the Jayhawks score first.
-With a win Friday, the Jayhawks will notch at least a 10-win season for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons.
Up Next
The Jayhawks will head to San Antonio, Texas for the 2012 Big 12 Championship held at Blossom Soccer Stadium. If Kansas earns a No. 5 seed it will play the No. 4 seed at 11:30 a.m., on Wednesday, Oct. 31 and if it earns a No. 6 seed they will play the No. 3 seed at 2 p.m., Wednesday. Follow all the action from the Big 12 Championship via KUAthletics.com and AT&T Jayhawk All-Access or on twitter at KU_Soccer.
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