⚽ MATCH PREVIEW: NCAA Championship - Third Round

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 3-seeded Kansas soccer team will look to punch a ticket to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history when they meet the No. 2 seed South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday, Nov. 24. Kickoff from Stone Stadium is set for 1 p.m. (CT) on SEC Network+ and ESPN3.

GAME INFORMATION:

#3 Kansas (17-4-3) at #2 South Carolina (18-1-3)

Date/Time: Sunday, Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. (CT)

Where: Stone Stadium (Columbia, S.C.)

Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network

Watch: SEC Network+

The Jayhawks prepped for the Sweet 16 match-up Saturday

QUICK KICKS

The Jayhawks are 8-8-0 in their nine appearances in the NCAA Tournament. KU is making its second all-time appearance in the third round and its first since 2003.
KU is coming off a 3-0 win over the Xavier Musketeers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Friday in Columbia. Senior Katie McClure posted a hat trick, her second of the season, in the win.
In KU’s last appearance in the Sweet 16 in 2003, the Jayhawks fell to second-ranked UCLA, 1-0, in Los Angeles.
KU is riding an 11-match unbeaten streak, a new program record for consecutive games without a loss. KU’s last loss came at Oklahoma State, 5-2, in Stillwater on Oct. 3.
Kansas is unbeaten on its 10 Sunday matches this season. The Jayhawks boast an 8-0-2 mark, a +18 goal differential (23-5), a 0.48 goals-against average and six shutouts on Sundays this year.
The Jayhawks’ 12 shutouts on the year are the second-most by a KU team in program history. Kansas also boasts a goals-against average of 0.42 during its 11-game unbeaten streak, having conceded only five goals in that span.
Senior Katie McClure has scored 17 goals this season, good for seventh in the NCAA and second-most by a Jayhawk in program history.
The Kansas defense has not conceded a goal in its last 378 minutes. The Jayhawks have now posted six opponent scoreless streaks of 300 minutes or longer over the last five years, including two this season.
Since 2014, the Jayhawks are 54-2-2 in matches in which they score two or more goals. This includes a 20-1-1 mark since the start of the 2018 season, with the lone blemish coming in the 5-2 loss to OSU last month.

NOTES:

BY THE NUMBERS

6 – Sunday’s contest will pit teams that boast two of the six longest active unbeaten streaks in the NCAA. KU enters the match having gone unbeaten in its previous 11 outings (6th longest), while South Carolina has not lost in 15 matches (2nd longest).
10 – KU enters the match against South Carolina unbeaten in the 10 matches it has played on Sundays this season. At 8-0-2 on the first day of the week in 2019, KU is looking to finish a season unbeaten on Sundays for just the second time.
43 – With her three-goal outing against Xavier Friday, Katie McClure has now tallied 17 goals and nine assists in 2019, giving the senior 43 points. The 43 points are the most by a Jayhawk in a single season.

LET’S DANCE!

The Kansas Jayhawks are making their ninth appearance in the NCAA Championship and their second in the second round when they meet South Carolina in Columbia Sunday. Kansas is 8-8-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games with its best run coming in 2003 when the Jayhawks advanced to the Sweet 16, where they fell to UCLA, 1-0, in Los Angeles. Kansas has advanced past the first round in six of its nine appearances and each of its last three trips to the NCAA tourney.

Kansas is making its second-straight appearance in the Big Dance. Last year, KU welcomed Saint Louis for its second meeting of the season at Rock Chalk Park. KU’s Katie scored the golden goal in the second overtime to hand the Jayhawks a 2-1 win. Kansas then fell to No. 1-seed North Carolina in the second round, 4-1.

NO SUNDAY SCARIES

With its 1-0 win over TCU on Nov. 10, Kansas remained unbeaten on Sundays this season. At 8-0-2, 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 +17 goal differential (22-5), a 0.53 goals-against average and five shutouts in Sunday matches this season.

NCAA SECOND ROUND LEFTOVERS

The No. 3-seeded Jayhawks topped the Xavier Musketeers, 3-0, in the second round Friday in Columbia behind Katie McClure’s second-career hat trick.
The win moved Kansas to its second third round in program history and the first since 2003.
McClure’s hat trick was her second of the season as well as her career. It was also her fourth multi-goal outing of her senior campaign.
KU completed its 12th shutout of the season, one shy of the single-season program record.
The win also saw the Jayhawks extend their unbeaten streak to 11 matches, while KU snapped Xavier’s eight-game winning streak.
KU’s three goals matched the most allowed by the Musketeers this season. Xavier had conceded a total of only two goals in its previous eight outings.

UP NEXT:

The winner of the Kansas-South Carolina contest will advance to the Elite Eight and host the next contest at their home venue. The national quarterfinal round will take place on either Friday, Nov. 29 or Nov. 30. Start times will be determined after all match-ups are set.