MATCH PREVIEW: vs. Baylor

QUICK KICKS

• Sunday will feature KU’s annual “Jayhawks for a Cure” match. The Jayhawks will wear pink kits, and fans are encouraged to wear pink. There will be a silent auction benefiting cancer research during the match.
• Kansas is coming off its third loss of the year, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Texas Longhorns Thursday night at Rock Chalk Park in the Big 12 opener.
• The Jayhawks are a formidable foe when coming off match in which they suffered a shutout. KU hasn’t been blanked in consecutive matches since 2015, and are 9-1-4 in those instances during that span.
• Kansas is 5-0-0 in matches played on Sundays this season. This after KU when a combined 5-7-3 on Sundays over the previous two seasons.
• Kansas was slotted at No. 8 in the season’s first Rating Percentage Index (RPI) released by the NCAA this week. It marked the highest RPI ranking for the Jayhawks since the weekly RPI became public in 2011.
• Kansas fell three spots in the latest United Soccer Coaches’ poll. At No. 17, the Jayhawks were slotted in the top-20 for the fifth-straight week, their longest such stint since 2014.
• Kansas is 35-16-2 in regular-season home games since 2014, which includes a 14-4-0 mark since the start of 2018.
• Eight different Jayhawks have scored a goal this season. McClure leads the team with nine goals, which ranks her fourth in the NCAA.
• McClure’s nine goals are the most by a Jayhawk through her first 11 games of a season since 2003, when Caroline Smith netted 11 goals in her first 11 outings en route to posting 19 that season.
• The KU defense has amassed a goals-against average of 0.64 after its first 11 outings, a number that ranks the Jayhawks third in the Big 12.
• Staying on defense, the KU backline has held its first 11 opponents to an average of 8.8 shots per game, which includes five matches when the Jayhawks conceded five or fewer opponent shots.

STORYLINES

• BOUNCING BACK
  The Jayhawks have been good bouncing back when they are coming off a loss, especially when they are playing on their home turf. KU will try to carry this trend into its match with Baylor, coming off its third loss of the season. Since moving to Rock Chalk Park in 2014, Kansas is 8-3-2 when playing a home match following a loss. That includes a 2-0-0 mark a season ago. The KU offense has also proven to be potent in games coming off being shutout. The Jayhawks have not been blanked in consecutive matches since 2015 and are 9-1-4 in matches coming off being shut out in that span.
• RPI REVIEW
  With the release of the first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) report by the NCAA this week, several good signs stick out for the Jayhawks. Kansas checked in at No. 8 on the list that takes numerous factors into account including strength of schedule, record against top-50 teams and home versus road record. The ranking was Kansas’ 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 seven 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 four of their next five contests will be against teams currently ranked inside the top-50 of the RPI.
• LET’S GET DEFENSIVE
  In the first half of the 2019 season 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 0.64 this season, which encompasses five shutouts in those first 11 outings. The Jayhawks are allowing less than three opponent shots on goal per match. KU has already put together several impressive shutout streak to start this season. Kansas went 189-straight minutes without conceding a goal to start the year, and recently wrapped up a 295-minute opponent scoreless stretch. KU has tallied four opponent scoreless streaks of 300 minutes or more in the last five seasons.