MATCH PREVIEW: at Western Michigan

QUICK KICKS

• Kansas is coming off a 1-0 win over Northwestern in Evanston on Sept. 13. Sophomore Kailey Lane scored her second goal in as many games in the 25th minute before the KU defense took over to limit the Wildcats to just three shots en route to its fourth shutout of the year.
• Sunday’s contest will mark the fourth match this season in which Kansas will be facing a school for the first time in program history.
• Kansas dropped seven spots but stayed inside the top-20 in the latest United Soccer Coaches’ poll. At No. 18, the Jayhawks were slotted in the top-20 for the third-straight week.
• Since 2014, the Jayhawks are 46-1-1 in matches in which they score two or more goals, this includes a 12-0-0 mark since the start of the 2018 season.
• The 2019 Jayhawks are the fifth Kansas squad to earn at least six victories through the opening seven games of the season. A win Sunday would mark the fourth time a KU squad has won at least seven games through its first eight matches.
• Katie McClure is out to a quick start to her senior campaign. Her seven goals lead the Big 12 and rank her in the top-10 of the NCAA, while her four game-winning goals lead the nation.
• McClure is tops among active players in the Big 12 in career goals (29), goals per game (0.43), game-winning goals and career points (68).
• KU is 24-17-8 over the last five seasons in matches played away from Rock Chalk Park. The Jayhawks have posted a winning percentage of .500 or better every year in that span.
• KU’s defense has conceded just three goals through its first seven matches of 2019 and became just the third Jayhawk team to allow three or fewer goals through its first seven games of a season. Last season’s KU squad, as well as the 2004 team, let only two goals in through their first seven contests.

STORYLINES

• HOT START HAWKS
  The impressive early performance to the 2019 campaign puts this year’s Jayhawk squad among just a handful of Kansas teams that have gotten their seasons off to a fast start. This bunch joins four other KU teams that were also able to tally six or more victories in the first seven games of the season. The Jayhawks’ early success bodes well for the bunch, as all four of those past four KU teams went on to make the NCAA Tournament and posted 13 or more victories. In three of those seasons, Kansas logged top-three finishes in the final Big 12 standings.
• ROAD WARRIORS
  With the Jayhawks set to continue their four-match road swing this weekend, they will look to continue their trend of relatively strong performances in matches away from Rock Chalk Park in the recent years. Kansas can hang its hat on an impressive record in road games over the past five seasons. KU has played 49 regular-season games away from home since the start of the 2014 season, amassing a record of 24-17-8, which included a 3-3-2 record last year. KU has posted a .500 record or better in regular-season road or neutral matches every year since 2014.
• LET’S GET DEFENSIVE
  In their first seven matches of 2019, the Jayhawks have once again proved to be a stout defensive team, carrying over the trend from their last several seasons. Kansas currently boasts a goals-against average of 0.43 this season, which encompasses four shutouts in those first seven outings. The Jayhawks are allowing less than three opponent shots on goal per match. KU has already put together an impressive shutout streak to start this season. Kansas went 189-straight minutes without conceding a goal to start the year, and just wrapped up a 217-minute opponent scoreless stretch. KU has tallied four opponent scoreless streaks of 300 minutes or more in the last five seasons.