⚽ Kansas Soccer to Begin Eight-Match Spring Season on Feb. 26

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s soccer’s spring 2021 schedule features seven Power 5 matches as the Jayhawks will vie for an at-large bid to the NCAA Women’s College Cup which will begin in April. The Women’s College Cup is normally held in the fall but was moved to spring due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

"It’s a different spring season with the games actually counting. Our objective is to make the NCAA Tournament after finishing fourth in the Big 12 in the fall. We definitely have a chance to get an at-large bid."

KU head coach Mark Francis

Kansas will begin its 2021 spring season on Friday, Feb. 26 in an exhibition match against Missouri Southern State at Rock Chalk Park. The contest will be the first of eight matches for KU. The Jayhawks will then play Dillons Sunflower Showdown rival Kansas State in back-to-back weeks starting Saturday, March 6, in Manhattan, followed by a Saturday, March 13, meeting at Rock Chalk Park.

KU will hit the road to take on Big 12 foe Iowa State on Saturday, March 20, and return to Rock Chalk Park to host ACC power Notre Dame on Sunday, March 28. The Jayhawks will then play at SEC foe Arkansas on Friday, April 2. KU will close out the spring schedule with back-to-back contests against Border Showdown foe Missouri. On Saturday, April 10, the KU-MU game will be at Rock Chalk Park and the following Saturday, April 17, the two teams will meet in Columbia, Missouri.

With COVID-19, the Big 12 allowed a conference-only schedule in fall 2020, limiting the league to nine matches. Kansas placed fourth in the league with a 5-3-1 record. The 2021 NCAA Championship selections will be announced April 18 and the bracket has been reduced from 64 to 48 teams. There will be 31 automatic qualifiers, with TCU earning the Big 12 AQ based on the 2020 fall season, and 17 at-large selections. The Women’s College Cup will be May 13-17.

"It’s going to be a tough schedule for sure. We don’t have our seniors in the spring since they graduated so this will be an opportunity for some of the younger players to step up. We’re excited about that and excited to get going and compete."

Mark Francis