MATCH PREVIEW: vs. Loyola-Chicago

MATCH 2 – Loyola-Chicago

Date: Sunday, Aug. 25
Location: Lawrence, Kan.
Stadium: Rock Chalk Park
Kickoff: 1 p.m. (CT)
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: Jayhawk Radio Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

 

SUNDAY PROMOTIONS

Bark at the Park (All dogs admitted)
Youth Clinic with the Jayhawks postgame (13 and under)
Postgame autographs on the field

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas will look to close out an unblemished opening weekend when the Jayhawks welcome the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers to Rock Chalk Park on Sunday, Aug. 25. The match will mark the second meeting all-time between the two programs. The match, set for 1 p.m., will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Josh Klingler (play-by-play) and Huw Williams (analyst) calling the action.

The Jayhawks are coming off an impressive 4-0 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the season opener on Aug. 22. Senior forward Katie McClure tallied her first-career hat trick in the victory and added an assist, while sophomore forward also added a goal in the offensive onslaught. It marked KU’s first win over their former conference rival since 2007.

Kansas return 18 letterwinners and nine starters from the 2018 squad which went 12-6-3 and finished sixth in the Big 12. Mark Francis is entering his 21st season at the helm in Lawrence and holds a 219-163-34 record with KU and is second among active Big 12 coaches with 252 career coaching victories.

The KU defense is again to be expected to be stout this year, with the return of each of last season’s starters as well as several talented reserves. In 21 matches last year the Jayhawks boasted a goals-against average of 1.03 but allowed one or fewer goals on 14 of those occasions. Kansas will carry four keepers on the 2019 roster, with sophomore Sarah Peters back after starting between the posts for every match last season. Peters tallied nine shutouts in her debut campaign and collected 57 saves.

Preparing to enter his ninth season in charge of the Ramblers, head coach Barry Bimbi welcomes back a strong nucleus of 18 letterwinners from last season’s team that finished 11-7-1 (6-1-0 MVC). The Ramblers swept the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles before falling to eventual National Champion Florida State, 1-0, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Leading the way for the group of returnees are seniors Madison Laudeman and Sienna Cruz, and sophomore Abby Swanson. All three were recognized as Preseason All-MVC selection, while Loyola was voted the preseason league favorite for a second consecutive year. Bimbi’s side has also added nine newcomers, including South Carolina graduate transfer Simone Wark.

Loyola opened its season on Aug. 22 with a 3-1 loss at Illinois. The Illini scored three times in the opening 60 minutes before Aleksa Tataryn netted the Ramblers lone goal in the 72nd minute.

QUICK KICKS

  • The Jayhawks are coming off an impressive 4-0 win over Nebraska in their 2019 opener Thursday night. It marked KU’s first win over the Cornhuskers since 2007 and its largest margin of victory in 24 meetings with Nebraska.
  • Kansas entered the season receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches’ preseason top-25 poll. Last season the Jayhawks spent five weeks ranked among the nation’s top-25, climbing as high as No. 18. Seven of KU’s has regular-season opponents are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll.
  • KU senior Katie McClure got her senior campaign off to a strong start by notching her first-career hat trick in the win over Nebraska. McClure’s trio of goals moved her from ninth to fifth on KU’s all-time scoring list, now with 25 in her career.
  • Kansas will look to start a season 2-0 for the eighth time in program history and the second-straight year. The record for consecutive wins to start a season is eight and was achieved in 2014.
  • Jayhawk sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Peters tallied her 10th career shutout in the win over Nebraska on Aug 22. It made her the fastest KU keeper to reach double-digit shutouts, needing only 22 starts to reach the milestone.
  • Kansas is now 31-7-3 in matches played in the month of August since the 2008 season and have lost just twice in the opening-month of the season since 2016.
  • The Jayhawks were picked to finish sixth in the Big 12’s preseason poll as voted on by the league’s coaches. KU has finished sixth or better in the league standings all but once over the last seven seasons.


UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will return to Rock Chalk Park to host the No. 20 Memphis Tigers on Thursday, Aug. 29. The two programs will meet for the first time when they kick off at 7 p.m. (CT). The match will be televised via Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Josh Klingler (play-by-play) and Huw Williams (color) calling the action.