Kansas and Colorado College set for Friday night bout

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Sophomore midfielder Sophie Maierhofer 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas soccer returns home riding a three-game winning streak and hopes to make it four-straight when KU faces Colorado College Friday night at Rock Chalk Park. The Jayhawks and Tigers will kick off at 7 p.m. (CT) in the match that will be streamed live on KUAthletics.com. 
 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
After suffering its worst loss in over two years in its season-opener against Nebraska, the Kansas soccer team enters Friday’s contest coming off three-consecutive shutout victories in its three outings since. The Jayhawks have not conceded an opponent goal in over 291 minutes and their three shutouts after two weeks of the season rank among the top-15 in the NCAA. A victory over the Tigers Friday night would mark the Jayhawks’ longest winning streak since 2014.
 
After a quiet opening match against Nebraska on Aug. 18, the Jayhawk offense has come alive in its three most recent outings. KU has tallied seven goals and is averaging nearly 15 shots per outing in its four matches this year. Sophomore Sophie Maierhofer has already netted three goals to lead the Jayhawks and is joined by four teammates who have entered the score sheet in 2017. Junior Grace Hagan is Kansas’ top returning scorer from last season. The Wichita product has tallied a goal and two assists in her four outings. Hagan is one of 30 women to be named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
 
Since conceding three goals in the opener versus Nebraska, the KU defense has been stout in its three matches since. KU has not allowed a goal in its last 291 minutes and has held two of its last three opponents to eight shots or fewer. Senior Maddie Dobyns, the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, was Kansas’ starting keeper in each of KU’s four matches. She has collected 17 saves and amassed a save percentage of .850. Her 0.75 goals-against average is among the top-90 of NCAA DI goalkeepers.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Rock Chalk Park will be a welcome site to the Jayhawks this weekend as KU is coming off a successful three-year stint playing on its home turf. The Jayhawks are 20-8-2 in matches played at home 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 the start of 2014, KU has amassed a goal differential of +20 against its foes at home, averaging 1.5 goals per match. The Kansas defense has held opponents to a goals-against average of 0.81 on its home turf in that same span, which includes 12 shutouts.
 
ABOUT THE TIGERS
Colorado College, located in Colorado Springs and with an enrollment of 2,034, enters Friday’s match following an eight-day layoff. On Aug. 24, the Tigers picked up their first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over Albany. Prior to that match, CC dropped its first two matches of the year, a 3-1 loss to Northern Colorado and a 1-0 overtime loss to Colorado.
 
Through its first three matches of 2017, Colorado College has netted three goals and is averaging just over seven shots per game. The Tigers have put nearly 55 percent of their tries on target. CC has seen three different goal scorers thus far and has seen seven different players tally multiple shots. Junior forward Clara Richter is the team’s leading returning goal scorer after netting five last season, however she has yet to tally a goal this year.
 
The Colorado College defense has allowed five goals so far in 2017. Tiger opponents have averaged 12.3 shots per game and only five shots on goal per match. In goal, both Molly Hiniker and Jade Odom have seen minutes for the Tigers between the posts. In two starts, Odom has allowed two goals and made seven saves, amassing a save percentage of .778.
 
Geoff Bennett is in his 14th season as the head coach at Colorado College. Bennett has guided the Tigers to a 143-90-33 record during his time in Colorado Springs. The Lawrenceville, New Jersey native, who owns a 173-106-42 (.605) ledger in 16 campaigns overall as a head coach in the Division I women’s ranks, has guided the Tigers to double-digit victories in eight of the last nine seasons.
 
LAST TIME OUT
An impressive outing from senior goalkeeper Maddie Dobyns as well as another two-goal effort from the KU offense keyed a 2-0 victory for the Kansas soccer team against Oregon State Sunday afternoon. The Jayhawks eventually broke through in the 39th minute, putting in their third goal off a corner kick set piece in as many games. Sophomore Madison Meador served in a ball that flew toward the penalty spot where it met the head of the senior midfielder, Hannah Lukinac. The shot lobbed over the outstretched arm of the OSU goalkeeper and just under the crossbar to give the Olathe, Kansas native her first goal of the year and her team the 1-0 edge as it headed to the halftime lockerroom.
 
With just under 20 minutes to play, Maierhofer gave KU some insurance with her goal in the 72nd minute. The Graz, Austria native received a long cross from freshman Isabella Cavalcante at the top of the Oregon State penalty area. From there she unleashed a left-footed strike that flew into the back of the net to give the Jayhawks a commanding 2-0 lead.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Following last weekend’s first road trip of the 2017 season, the Jayhawks look primed to continue their trend of strong performances in matches away from Rock Chalk Park in the recent years. Kansas can hang its hat on an impressive record in road games over the past three-plus years. KU has played 30 regular-season road games since the start of the 2014 season, amassing a record of 17-9-4, which included a 4-3-3 record last year and already a 2-0 mark this season following Sunday’s win at Oregon State. The Jayhawks hope they can continue this trend over the next month, with six of their nine matches away from Lawrence.
 
DOBYNS HONORED WITH WEEKLY AWARDS
Following a nine save, two shutout weekend, Kansas senior goalkeeper Maddie Dobyns garnered a pair of weekly honors for her efforts. The Big 12 Conference named her its Defensive Player of the Week, while Top Drawer Soccer added her to its ‘Team of the Week’, which highlights the top 11 players from the last week of collegiate soccer action.
 
Dobyns, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, was key in the Jayhawks’ undefeated weekend as they topped Tulsa (2-0) and Oregon State (2-0), both on the road. She collected nine saves on the weekend, which included a six-save effort against the Beavers Sunday, as she and the Kansas defense posted a pair of shutouts. Dobyns’ biggest moment of the weekend came in the 68th minute against Oregon State, when she stopped a Beaver penalty kick attempt to preserve the Jayhawk lead. The senior has now gone more than 291 minutes since conceding an opponent goal.
 
FRANCIS CLAIMS WIN NO. 200 AT KANSAS
With Kansas’ 3-0 win over Central Michigan on Aug. 20, Mark Francis claimed his 200th victory as the head coach of Kansas. He has now amassed a record of 201-148-28 over his 19-year stint in Lawrence. The veteran coach has averaged just over 11 wins per season during that span. He is currently second among the active Big 12 coaches in victories behind West Virginia’s Nikki Izzo-Brown.
 
FEEDING ON NONCON
This season, the Jayhawks will try to make it 10-straight seasons with a .500 winning percentage or better against regular-season nonconference foes. Since the start of the 2012 season, Kansas has posted an impressive 35-16-6 mark in its 57 regular-season nonconference matches (67%), which includes a 23-9-3 mark since 2014. In the last six seasons, KU has outscored noncon opponents by a tally of 98-53. Mark Francis has led KU to a winning record in noncon in 18 of his 19 seasons in Lawrence and is now 114-48-10 in regular season nonconference games.
 
LET’S GET DEFENSIVE
In their last three matches, 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 0.75 this season, which includes three shutouts in four outings. The Jayhawks are allowing less than 11 opponent shots per match, which includes two games when KU opponents sent in 10 or fewer attempts. Over their last 67 matches (dating back to the start of the 2014 season), the Jayhawks shutout 23 opponents and boast a goals-against average of 0.92. Kansas conceded 64 opponent goals in that span and has allowed one opponent goal or less in 24 of its last 29 matches.
 
KU is also already in the midst of an impressive shutout streak early this season. Kansas has gone 291-straight minutes without conceding a goal. The figure is the 17th-longest in school history and marks the sixth time over the last six seasons the Jayhawks have tallied an opponent scoreless streak of 290 minutes or longer.
 
IRON JAYHAWK
Senior Kayla Morrison has carried an impressive streak into her final year in Lawrence as she has started all 67 of the Jayhawks’ matches since her freshman year in 2014. Morrison’s mark is already among the longest in program history as it’s fifth on the all-time list among field players. If the Corona, California product is in the starting lineup in each of Kansas’ final 15 regular-season games, she would move to a tie for third on that list with 82-straight starts.
 
Two field players hold the ultimate title of “Iron Jayhawk” as they started each of KU’s matches over a four-year span. Estelle Johnson (2006-09) and Afton Sauer (2004-07) were in the Starting 11 in all 83 games of their careers.
 
JUST ONE WILL DO IT
The Jayhawks continue to carry on an impressive trend that has developed over the last five seasons when it comes to scoring. Since the start of the 2012 campaign, the Kansas soccer team scored at least one goal in 71 matches. The Jayhawks’ record in those matches: 56-8-8. Kansas won or tied all but eight matches in which it scored, including a 24-3-5 record in those instances during since the 2015 season, and an 11-1-4 record last year.
 
FIRST TO SCORE, WINS GALORE
Over its past 107 games, dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season, Kansas developed an interesting trend when it comes to which team tallies the first goal of the match. During that 107-game span, the Jayhawks were on the losing end only once in contests which they put in the match’s first goal. Kansas has amassed a record of 53-1-5 in those games, which included a 10-0-2 mark last season and already a 3-0 mark this year. The Jayhawks’ win over Oregon State on Aug. 27 was their 48th-consecutive unbeaten match when they scored first.
 
On the flip side, KU wasn’t quite as fortunate when its opponents have gotten on the board first. Kansas’ win over Texas Tech on Sept. 23 of last season marked just the third victory for the Jayhawks in that same 107-game span when finding itself trailing 1-0 at any point in a match. Kansas is now 3-39-3 in those games over the last four seasons, which included all six of the Jayhawks’ losses and two of their draws in 2016 and its lone loss to Nebraska in the first weekend of this season.
 
EXPERIENCE VS. YOUTH
The 2017 edition of the Jayhawks will be a youthful bunch, with 16 of the 25-woman roster boasting only one season of collegiate experience or less. There are eight newcomers on this season’s roster, including seven true freshmen, who the coaches are leaning on to contribute almost immediately. The squad will feature five seniors, one of whom is in her fifth year. Four of the five members of the 2017 senior class have played in at least 39 matches.
 
JAYHAWKS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN PRESEASON BIG 12 POLL
Kansas soccer was predicted to finish second in the 2017 league standings according to the Big 12 preseason coaches’ poll which was released Aug. 9. The ranking marked the highest Kansas has been picked to finish since the preseason coaches’ poll began in 2000.
 
Five-time defending league champion West Virginia was the coaches’ unanimous choice to win the conference, receiving eight first-place votes and 81 points overall. The Mountaineers were followed by Kansas (71), Oklahoma (57), Texas Tech (55), Baylor (47), Oklahoma State (38), TCU (37), Texas (32), Iowa State (23) and Kansas State (9).
 
HAGAN NAMED TO MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
Kansas junior Grace Hagan was one of 30 women in Division I NCAA soccer to be selected to the Watch List for the Missouri Athletic Club’s (MAC) Hermann Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s most valuable collegiate soccer player every season.
 
Hagan, who hails from Wichita, Kansas, enters this season coming off a stellar sophomore campaign in 2016. An honoree on the NSCAA All-Central Region First Team, Hagan scored a team-high seven goals and added four assists to combine for 18 total points on the year, the fifth-most in the Big 12 Conference. She was also selected to the All-Big 12 First Team. She added a pair of game-winning goals on the year and helped the Jayhawks to their best conference finish in over a decade, finishing 5-1-2 in league play and aided Kansas to the program’s seventh NCAA Tournament appearance. Hagan is six goals shy from moving into the top-10 of Kansas’ all-time goal scorers list.
 
BIG CLEATS TO FILL
The 2017 Jayhawks are trying to fill the void left by a large group of players lost to graduation following last season. KU will have to navigate through the departure of seven players who were a part of 53 KU victories since 2012. They helped their team to a pair of top-three Big 12 finishes, its fifth-straight Big 12 tournament berth and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Combined, these seven accumulated 355 starts and played over 33,000 minutes in the Crimson and Blue. This senior class also combined for 11 goals, 23 assists and 311 shots. From 2013-16, this Jayhawk senior class amassed a record of 43-32-8. This makes it the seventh class in program history to have achieved 43 or more wins in a four-year period.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas welcomes the defending NCAA Champion USC Trojans to Lawrence for a Sunday-night contest on Sept. 3. The match will begin at 7 p.m., and will be televised on Spectrum Sports and streamed on ESPN3.
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