MATCH PREVIEW: at Iowa State
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 25 Kansas (11-4-3, 3-2-3) will look to close out the regular season on a high note when the Jayhawks meet the Iowa State Cyclones (3-14-0, 0-8-0) in Ames on Thursday, Oct. 31. Kickoff from ISU Soccer Complex is slated for 7 p.m.
QUICK KICKS
- With one match remaining in league play, the Jayhawks sit in a tie for sixth place with 12 points. With a win, KU could finish as high as third on the final league table.
- The Jayhawks are coming off a 2-2 draw at TCU on Oct. 27 in Fort Worth. KU netted the go-ahead goal via a penalty kick in the 87th minute, however, TCU tied the match with 13 seconds remaining in regulation.
- KU is riding a five-match unbeaten streak, its longest such streak since starting the 2018 campaign going undefeated in its first eight contests. The program record for consecutive games without a loss is eight, shared by the 2008 and 2018 squads.
- Kansas was slotted at No. 19 in the season’s sixth Rating Percentage Index (RPI) released by the NCAA this week. It marked the first time since 2014 that the Jayhawks were slotted in the top-20 of the RPI in six-straight weeks.
- The Jayhawks have gone to overtime in four of their last five outings, going 1-0-3 in those four extra time games. KU is 10-3-14 in their last 27 overtime matches, and 6-1-6 in OTs since the start of the 2018 season.
- KU’s 34 goals scored this season rank 50th in the NCAA and fourth in the conference. The figure has already surpassed the goals scored in each of the last four seasons.
- Katie McClure recently moved to No. 2 on KU’s all-time points list. The senior forward has amassed 82 points via her 34 goals and 14 career assists.
- Since 2014, the Jayhawks are 50-2-2 in matches in which they score two or more goals. This includes a 16-1-1 mark since the start of the 2018 season, with the lone blemish coming in the 5-2 loss to OSU three weeks ago.
- A win Thursday would make the 2019 Jayhawks the sixth KU squad in program history to finish a regular season with 12 or more wins. They would join the teams from 2014 (15), 2009 (12), 2004 (16), 2003 (15) and 2001 (13).
GAME INFORMATION:
#3/3 Kansas (11-4-3, 3-2-3 Big 12) at Iowa State (3-14-0, 0-8-0 Big 12)
Date/Time: Thursday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. (CT)
Where: Ames, Iowa (ISU Soccer Complex)
Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network
Watch: Cyclone.tv
NOTES:
BY THE NUMBERS
- 10 – Kansas has lost just three of its last 10 regular-season finales dating back to 2009. The Jayhawks are 11-8-1 in regular-season finales under head coach Mark Francis.
- 15 – A win Thursday would give the Jayhawks at least 15 points in Big 12 play for the fourth time since 2014.
- 18 – Eighteen of KU’s 34 goals this season have come in either the first 15 minutes or the final 15 minutes of regulation and overtime. Last season, the Jayhawks didn’t score any goals in the first 15 minutes but netted nine of their 28 goals after the 74th minute.
OVERTIME = OUR TIME
After enduring its fourth overtime in its last five outings, the Jayhawks are once again putting up solid performances when the match goes to extra time. Following KU’s draw with TCU Sunday the Jayhawks are 10-3-14 in their last 27 contests that have gone past the 90th minute. This stretch dates back to the 2015 season.
Kansas has netted 10 golden goals in this span, which includes six over the last two seasons.
The Jayhawks have been on the wrong end of a golden goal just three times during this four-year stretch and only once in the 13 overtime matches it has played since the start of 2018.
NO SUNDAY SCARIES
With its 2-2 draw against TCU on Oct. 27, Kansas will conclude the regular season unbeaten on Sundays this season. At 6-0-2 this season, the Jayhawks are looking to finish the year without a Sunday loss for just the second time in program history. In 2016, KU went 6-0-3 on Sundays.
The torrid play on the first day of the week this season comes after the Jayhawks went a combined 5-7-3 on Sundays during the 2017 and 2018 campaigns.
Kansas has a +15 goal differential (20-5), a 0.59 goals-against average and four shutouts in Sunday matches this season.
FIRST TO SCORE, WINS GALORE
Dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season, now at 162 games, Kansas has developed an interesting trend when it comes to which team tallies the first goal of the match. During that 162-game span, the Jayhawks were on the losing end only four times in contests which they put in the match’s first goal. Kansas has amassed a record of 74-4-9 in those games (90.6 winning %), which includes nine of KU’s wins and one draw this season.
UP NEXT:
The Jayhawks will begin postseason play on Sunday, Nov. 3 with the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas will learn their seeding and quarterfinal opponent following the conclusion of regular-season play Thursday night. If the Jayhawks advance past the quarterfinals, KU will play take the field for the tournament semifinals on Friday, Nov. 8.
