MATCH PREVIEW: at Oklahoma

QUICK KICKS

• Kansas is coming off a 5-2 loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Oct. 3. Juniors Ceri Holland and Mandi Duggan scored in the loss as the Jayhawks conceded five goals in a league game for just the second time since 2011.
• Kansas was slotted at No. 18 in the season’s third Rating Percentage Index (RPI) released by the NCAA this week. It marked the first times since 2014 that the Jayhawks were slotted in the top-20 of the RPI in three-straight weeks.
• The Jayhawks carry a four-match unbeaten streak against the Sooners into Thursday’s match. This stretch came after KU claimed just one win over Oklahoma in six tries from 2010-14.
• Kansas’ 27 goals scored this season rank 33rd in the NCAA and fourth in the conference. The figure has already surpassed the goals scored by the 2015, 2016 and 2017 squads, with KU’s next goal matching the total from the entire 2018 campaign.
• Since 2014, the Jayhawks are 49-2-1 in matches in which they score two or more goals. This includes a 15-1-0 mark since the start of the 2018 season, with the lone blemish coming in the 5-2 loss to OSU last week in Stillwater.
• Ten different Jayhawks have scored a goal this season. McClure leads the team with nine goals, which ranks her 19th in the NCAA.
• McClure’s nine goals are the most by a Jayhawk through her first 13 games of a season since 2003, when Caroline Smith netted 11 goals in her first 13 outings en route to posting 19 that season.
• The KU defense has amassed a goals-against average of 1.00 after its first 13 outings, a number that ranks the Jayhawks third in the Big 12.
  Staying on defense, the KU backline has held its first 13 opponents to an average of 9.6 shots per game, which includes five matches when the Jayhawks conceded five or fewer opponent shots.

STORYLINES

• NO GAMES OFF
  Before Kansas soccer even hit the pitch for its first match of the season, the Jayhawks knew they would be in for a gauntlet of a schedule in 2019. The 2019 Jayhawks’ slate, which currently sits as the 19th-toughest in all of NCAA DI, features nine teams that competed in the NCAA Tournament a year ago as well as three reigning conference champions. The Jayhawks, sitting at 9-4-0 after their first 13 games of the season, have played or will play five teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches’ top-25 poll. That number includes two squads inside the top-10. The Jayhawks have already played three top-25 teams over the first two months of the season – No. 20 Memphis (W, 2-1), No. 7 BYU (L, 0-2) and No. 25 Oklahoma State (L, 2-5). It appears as though KU will face several more battles with top-25 teams this season with the bulk of Big 12 Conference play still to come. The conference currently features four teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the Coaches’ poll and that includes No. 14 Texas Tech and No. 18 Oklahoma State.
• IRON JAYHAWK
  Senior Katie McClure has continued an impressive streak into her final year in Lawrence as she has started each of the Jayhawks’ last 70 matches dating back to her freshman year in 2016. McClure’s mark is already among the longest in program history as it sits sixth on the all-time list among field players.
• RPI REVIEW
  With the release of the season’s second official Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) report by the NCAA this week, several good signs stick out for the Jayhawks. Kansas checked in at No. 18 on the list that takes numerous factors into account including strength of schedule, record against top-50 teams and home versus road record. In the first report released on Sept. 24, KU was slotted at No. 8, it’s highest to start the year since the weekly RPI report became public in 2011. This week’s report shows that the Big 12 is among the nation’s toughest conferences after the conclusion of nonconference play. The league tallied the fourth-highest ranking in the week’s RPI and boasts eight of its 10 teams inside the top-65. The conference’s high ranking also means the Jayhawks will get plenty of chances to up their national standing as three of their next four contests will be against teams currently ranked inside the top-60 of the RPI.