November 09, 2016

RCW: Inside Soccer 3.12

Get a quick look inside your favorite Kansas Jayhawk programs each week with Rock Chalk Weekly’s Inside Sports pages. Notable statistics, quick hits and the top social media posts get every Jayhawk fan up-to-speed and ready for another week of thrilling competition.

Soccer By the Numbers Number BY THE NUMBERS
With its selection Monday, the Kansas soccer team will play in its seventh NCAA Tournament under 17-year head coach Mark Francis. The Jayhawks will meet former Big 12 rival Missouri in the first round of the 64-team tournament Sunday at Rock Chalk Park. First touch is slated for 1 p.m.

FOLLOW
Twitter @KUWSoccer
Facebook /KansasSoccer
Instagram kansassoccer

Notes QUICK HITS

Kansas will meet Missouri for the 22^nd time in program history and for the third time in the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks defeated the Tigers in the second round of the 2003 tournament before MU topped KU in the first round of the 2014 tourney.
KU was one of six Big 12 squads selected to the NCAA Tournament. The six teams selected are tied for the third-most of any conference in the nation. The six bids this year matches the second-highest in league history (2008), with only the 2003 season (eight teams) boasting more NCAA selections. It is the 21^st-consecutive season the Big 12 has had multiple representatives in the championship.
Kansas will host the fifth NCAA Tournament game in program history when Missouri comes to Rock Chalk Park Sunday. The Jayhawks are 7-2-2 in their last 11 outings at their home pitch.
KU averaged more than 1,000 fans per game in attendance for the first time in program history this season. Kansas saw 1,046 fans per match in 2016, the third-highest average in the Big 12.
The Jayhawks suffered an early exit in the Big 12 Championship last week, falling to eventual tournament runner-up, TCU, in the tournament quarterfinals, 1-0.
Kansas has either reached the final or lost to a team that has reached the final in the last four Big 12 Tournaments.
Thirteen of KU’s 19 matches this season were against teams that were selected to this season’s NCAA Tournament field. The Jayhawks were 4-5-4 in those 13 outings.
The winner of the KU-MU contest will play the winner of the No. 2-seed North Carolina-Liberty match on Friday, Nov. 18 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. If the Jayhawks win each of their first two matches, they will then play in the third-round game on Sunday, Nov. 20, again in Chapel Hill.