MATCH PREVIEW: vs. Florida Atlantic

QUICK KICKS

• The No. 18 Kansas Jayhawks look to continue their hot start to the 2019 season when they welcome the the Florida Atlantic Owls to Rock Chalk Park on Sunday, Sept. 1. The match will be the first meeting between the two squads.
• The Jayhawks are coming off a thrilling, 2-1, come-from-behind win over No. 20 Memphis on Thursday night in Lawrence. KU scored twice in the second half, with Katie McClure netting the winner with 65 seconds left in regulation.
• McClure is out to a quick start to her senior campaign. Her five goals and 12 points rank No. 2 in the NCAA, while her three game-winning goals lead the nation.
• McClure’s penchant for late-game heroics showed up in the win over Memphis. Her goal in the 89th minute was the 14th game-winner of her career and tied the program record. Ten of McClure’s 27 career goals have come in the final 15 minutes of regulation or overtime.
• Statistically, the Jayhawks rank in the top-20 nationally in assists per game (18th, 3.3), goals per game (11th, 4.0) and points per game (12th, 11.3).
• The Jayhawks’ 12 goals through their first three matches are the most by a KU team in the first three games of a season.
• KU assistant coach Laura Jackson will see a lot of familiar faces on the other sideline Sunday. She was an assistant at Florida Atlantic for the last two seasons, 2017 and 2018.
• Kansas are looking to start a season 4-0 for the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2014. The record for consecutive wins to start a season is eight and was achieved in 2014.
• Ten different Jayhawks tallied at least a goal or an assist in KU’s first three matches of 2019.
• Kansas closed out another impressive August last Thursday and is now 33-7-3 in matches played in August since the 2008 season. The Jayhawks have lost just twice in the opening-month of the season since 2016.

STORYLINES

• TOP-25 TAKEDOWNS
  Thursday’s win over No. 20 Memphis marked the fourth-consecutive season the Jayhawks have tallied at least one victory over a team ranked among the top-25 in the nation.Kansas is 8-13-2 against ranked foes since 2016, with six of those losses coming against teams inside the top-10. Prior to this recent run, the Jayhawks managed just six victories over top-25 teams from 2010-15.
• KATIE McCLUTCH
  Senior Katie McClure has firmly positioned herself as one of the most clutch players in program history. Already this season, the Wichita product has tallied three game-winning goals, including the winner in the final seconds against No. 20 Memphis on Aug. 26. These late-match heroics are nothing new for McClure, who has proved time and time again throughout her career that she performs best when the match is in its final stages.Her her goal against Memphis on Aug. 26 marked the 14 game-winner of her career and tied her with Caroline Smith (2001-04) for the program record.Of McClure’s 27-career goals, 10 of them have come in the final 15 minutes of regulation or overtime, which includes four golden goals last season.
• TALKIN’ TOP-25
  Following the impressive opening weekend to the Jayhawks’ season, the voters for several national polls showed their appreciation for KU’s work thus far in 2019, moving them from unranked and into the top-25.Kansas made its fifth appearance in six seasons in the United Soccer Coaches’ poll when it posted KU at No. 18 this week. KU’s highest all-time ranking in that poll (formerly the NSCAA Coaches’ poll) was No. 6 during the 2004 season. The Jayhawks also peaked inside the top-10 during their 2014 campaign, climbing as high as No. 9. Last season, Kansas found itself among the top-25 during five weeks, topping out at 16 on Sept. 3.
• HOME SWEET HOME
  Rock Chalk Park has been a welcome site for the Jayhawks in recent years as KU is enjoying a successful four-year stint playing on its home turf. After their win over Memphis o on Aug. 29, the Jayhawks are 33-14-2 in matches played at home during the regular season since the start of the 2014 campaign. From 2013-14, Kansas also enjoyed an 11-match home winning streak, the longest in program history.Since moving into Rock Chalk Park, Kansas has built a goal differential of +36 and boasts a goals-against average of 0.88, a number that includes 18 shutouts.