Kansas Travels to Saint Louis for First Round of NCAA Tournament Friday

#16 Kansas (13-5-4, 6-4-1 Big 12) at #21 Saint Louis (14-1-6, 7-0-3 Atlantic-10)
When	Friday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CT
Where	St. Louis, Mo. // Hermann Stadium
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	Stats
Game Notes	Kansas \| Saint Louis \| Big 12
Tickets	Buy Tickets
Social Media	@KUWSoccer \| @kansassoccer \| Facebook

ST. LOUIS – Kansas soccer will play the No. 8-seeded Saint Louis Billikens on Friday night at 7 p.m. CT in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Hermann Stadium. Kansas is making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its first since 2019. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and fans can purchase tickets by clicking here.

"There's not going to be a ton of surprises unless they do a huge tactical wrinkle," head coach Nate Lie said about Saint Louis. "They're doing things pretty similar to what they have done in the past. That is zero knock on anything because it's obviously worked. They have played the same teams in conference year-over-year and they're in the midst of a seven-peat."

No. 16 Kansas (13-5-4, 6-4-1 Big 12) won its second Big 12 Tournament in program history with a 1-0 victory against No. 7 TCU on Nov. 9. Lie became the first head coach in Big 12 soccer history to win the tournament championship in their first year leading a program. Kansas knocked off the number one (TCU), two (Texas Tech) and three (West Virginia) seeds in the final three matches to claim the championship. Kansas was picked to finish tied for 12th in the Big 12 preseason poll.

The Jayhawks are riding a season-long eight-match winning streak, including seven consecutive wins away from Lawrence. The win streak is tied for the second-longest active streak in the nation and ties the program record for the longest win streak. The Jayhawks have allowed three goals during the eight matches and are outscoring opponents 16-3 over the stretch. Kansas has not lost a game since Oct. 5.

This week, Kansas earned its first ranking of the season. The Jayhawks are ranked No. 16 by TopDrawerSoccer. The ranking was also the first since March 15, 2021, when Kansas was ranked No. 22.

Kansas had four players selected to the 2024 Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team. Caroline Castans, Sophie Dawe, Olivia Page and Lexi Watts were all voted onto the All-Tournament Team. Dawe also received Most Outstanding Defensive Player, while Watts was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player. The four selections for Kansas were tied for the most by any team.

Page also was named to TopDrawerSoccer's Women's National Team of the Week on Nov. 12. Page scored the game-winning goal in the semifinals against No. 17 Texas Tech on a header off a corner kick. She was also an anchor on the back line that allowed a combined one goal to No. 17 Texas Tech and No. 7 TCU last week.

ABOUT SAINT LOUIS
Saint Louis (14-1-6, 7-0-3 Atlantic-10) is ranked No. 21 nationally in the TopDrawerSoccer poll. The Billikens won their conference tournament for the seventh straight season and have won the A-10 regular season title six of the last seven years. Emily Gaebe leads the Billikens offensively with 15 goals this season, while Emily Puricelli has started every game in goal and owns a 0.51 goals against average this season, to go along with 10 solo shutouts.

SERIES HISTORY
Kansas and Saint Louis have met seven times in program history in a series that dates back to 2000. The Jayhawks lead the all-time series 5-1-1, which includes a matchup in the NCAA Tournament in 2018. Kansas has won each of the last three meetings and five of the last six.

The last time the teams played was Aug. 26, 2021 in Lawrence when Kansas won 2-0. The one battle in the NCAA Tournament came on Nov. 9, 2018 at Rock Chalk Park when Kansas defeated Saint Louis 2-1 in double overtime. Katie McClure scored both goals for Kansas in that match.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Friday night's match will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Dan Bettlach (play-by-play) and Bill McDermott (analyst) on the call.

Live statistics can be found here, while live updates will also be provided on the team's official X page @KUWSoccer.

UP NEXT
Kansas will either face the winner of No. 1 seed USC and Sacramento State on Nov. 22 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament or its season will come to an end.

Kansas Travels to Saint Louis for First Round of NCAA Tournament Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caroline Castans

Sophie Dawe

Olivia Page

Lexi Watts

University of Kansas Athletics

Kansas Travels to Saint Louis for First Round of NCAA Tournament Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caroline Castans

Sophie Dawe

Olivia Page

Lexi Watts

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