Jayhawks Trek to Arizona for Sun Devil Classic

Weekend Notes

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas soccer will look to continue its winning streak when it travels to the Arizona desert for the Sun Devil Classic in Tempe. The Jayhawks will kick off the weekend when they take on the Arizona Wildcats at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Sept. 6. KU will then hit the pitch against tournament host Arizona State on Sunday, Sept. 8 for a 3:30 p.m. (CT) matchup. Kansas is in the midst of a three-match winning streak and is outscoring its opponents 8-2 through the first four games of the season.
 
Follow the Jayhawks
While the Jayhawk games will not be broadcast on the Jayhawk Digital Passport this weekend, fans still have several ways to follow KU soccer at the Sun Devil Classic. Fans can get live updates by logging on to the Arizona State live stats page for up-to-the-minute stats and updates from both Jayhawk matches. Just log on to www.thesundevils.com, go to the women’s soccer schedule page and click the stats link next to the Kansas game. Don’t forget to follow on Twitter at @KUWSoccer for another great way to get live in-game updates and stay connected to KU Soccer.
 
Series Histories
Friday’s match in Tempe will mark the second meeting between the Jayhawks and Wildcats but the first in nearly 15 years. Kansas won the only prior meeting with Arizona, 1-0, in the match played in Lawrence. The game Sunday will be the third between Kansas and Arizona State. KU leads the all-time series 1-0-1 with both matches coming within the last four seasons. Kansas beat the Sun Devils 1-0 in the programs’ first meeting in 2009 in Knoxville, Tenn. The two met up again last year in Lawrence and played to a 2-2 draw.
 
About the Jayhawks
Kansas heads into the third weekend of the regular season after completing its first weekend sweep of the year, downing Missouri 1-0 Friday before beating Purdue 4-1 in Lawrence. The Jayhawks are receiving votes in the latest NSCAA Coaches’ poll and jumped 13 spots in the BennettRank top-25 to sit at No. 24. Seven different Jayhawks have put in goals so far this season including a season-high four against the Boilermakers Sunday.
 
After being shutout against Arkansas, the Jayhawk offense has showed its teeth since, scoring eight goals and averaging over 15 shots per game in the three matches after the Razorback loss. Kansas is putting 48.8 percent of its shots on target including a season-high 13 shots on goal Sunday against Purdue.
 
Defense is what the Jayhawks have hung their hat on in the early portion of the season, seeing only two opponent goals scored and allowing just four opponent shots on goal per game. KU has also already notched an impressive opponent scoreless streak, not allowing a goal for 348:34-straight minutes, beginning with the Arkansas match and ending in the game versus Purdue.
 
Scouting the Wildcats
Arizona has yet to lose a match in 2013, going 3-0-1 through the first two weekends of action this season. The Wildcats took down Florida International and Florida Atlantic 1-0 in their first two games of the season before throttling UC Riverside in Tucson, 6-0 on Aug. 30. The Wildcats’ next match resulted in a draw when they traveled to Columbus, Ohio and played to a 0-0 tie against the 24th-ranked Buckeyes. 
 
UA has outshot its opponents by a wide margin of eight shots per game and has been accurate with its chances, getting 50 percent of those shots on goal. Alexandre Doller leads the team in goals and assists, having already scored three times and tallying two helpers.
 
The Wildcat defense has not allowed a goal since the 82nd minute of its first game of the year against FIU. UA goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman has started all four of her team’s games this year and boasts a .882 save percentage and a 0.62 goals allowed average.
 
Tony Amato is in his first year as the head coach of the Arizona women’s soccer program after spending the last two seasons at Stephen F. Austin. Overall he has tallied a record of 127-48-14 in 10 seasons as a head coach with the first seven coming at Division II Rollins.
 
Scouting the Sun Devils
Arizona State is currently 2-1 and receiving votes in the most recent NSCAA Coaches’ poll after its 3-1 win over Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 1. The Sun Devils’ lone loss came at the hands of No. 19 Texas A&M, 3-1. ASU opened its 2013 campaign with a 2-0 win over Cal State Northridge in Tempe.
 
The Arizona State offense is scoring two goals per game with the help of 12 shots per match. Sophomore Cali Farquharson has tallied four of the team’s six goals so far this season on just eight shots. The ASU offense has had some trouble with accuracy in the early-season matches, getting only 41.7 percent of its shots on target.
 
The Sun Devil defense has allowed four goals through three games, however three of those came against Texas A&M. ASU opponents are getting 50 percent of their shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Chandler Morris has started each of the Sun Devils’ first three contests, tallying a shutout in the win over Cal State Fullerton. Morris is allowing 1.33 goals per game and has a save percentage of .765.
 
Head coach Kevin Boyd is in his seventh year at Arizona State. In his time at Tempe, Boyd has amassed a record of 56-53-14, and holds a career coaching record of 180-116-34. He has led the Sun Devils to three NCAA Tournament appearances in the last four seasons.
 
Keepin’ ’em Off the Board
Through just four games, the 2013 Jayhawks have already made their mark in the program record books, on defense that is. After giving up a goal to Arkansas in the fourth-minute of the season, KU did not allow on opponent to score over the next 348 minutes. The streak came to an end when Purdue converted on a penalty kick in the 83rd minute of the Jayhawks’ 4-1 win Sunday. Kansas’ 348:34 streak ranks as the seventh-longest in program history and the second-best streak since 2006.
 
           Kansas All-Time Top-10 Opponent Scoreless Streaks
         Rk Time     Year   (Streak Began – Streak Ended)                    
         1.  552:19  2001   (Oct. 21 vs. Texas – Nov. 8 vs. Missouri)
         2.  492:09 2004   (Aug. 28 vs. UNLV – Sept. 11 vs. Clemson)
         3.  385:56  2004   (Oct. 8 vs. Missouri – Oct. 24 vs. Texas)
         4.  374:57  2006   (Oct. 8 vs. Texas A&M – Oct. 27 vs. Colorado)
         5   361:52 2002   (Sept. 13 vs. Arkansas – Sept. 27 vs. Colorado)
         6.  350:35  2012   (Aug. 24 vs. Georgia – Sept. 2 vs. Arizona State)
           7.  348:34  2013  (Aug. 23 vs. Arkansas – Sept. 1 vs. Purdue)
         8.  317:31  2005   (Oct. 7 vs. Oklahoma State – Oct. 16 at Colorado)
         9.  306:25  2005   (Aug. 31 vs. Missouri State – Sept. 11 vs. Pepperdine)
         10. 297:17  2003   (Oct. 26 vs. Michigan – Nov. 7 vs. Oklahoma State)
 
Spreading the Wealth
Kansas has proven to be an unselfish team so far this season, with seven different Jayhawks tallying goals, already evening to last seasons’ goal scorer total. This type of unselfish play isn’t anything new for Kansas, especially during the Mark Francis era. KU has seen seven or more of its players put in goals in all but one season of Francis’ 15-year stay in Lawrence.
 
Last year, KU had seven different players enter the score sheet and 10 tally at least one helper. The program high came in 2003 when 14 of the team’s 20 players posted at least one goal.
 
Last Minute Lyden
Junior Kelsey Lyden picked a good time for her first career goal, putting in the go-ahead goal last Friday against Missouri State in the 87th minute and eventually earning Kansas its second win of the year. Lyden joins a small but elite list of Jayhawks whose first career goals came in the final 10 minutes of a match and were also game-winners. Just eight KU players have accomplished the feat, four of which came over in the last three seasons. Current KU assistant and former KU player Jessica Smith also saw her first goal at KU come in crunch time, a score in the 90th minute against Texas Tech in 2002.
 
         First Career Goals Scored in Final 10 Minutes + Were Game-Winning Goals
         Player                  Time of Goal       Opponent                                           
         Kelsey Lyden         86:13                at Missouri State (8/30/13)
         Ashley Williams      96:34                vs. UC Santa Barbara (8/17/12)
         Liana Salazar         81:30                vs. South Dakota State (9/4/11)
         Ingrid Vidal           82:16                at San Diego (8/28/11)
         Kim Boyer            91:55                vs. Missouri State (9/18/07)
         Shannon McCabe    89:33                vs. Duke (9/10/06)
         Jessica Smith        89:36                at Texas Tech (10/6/02)
         Jackie Horton        87:00                vs. Colorado (10/25/96)
 
Sweet Caroline                                                                                                                                                   
For the second time this year, senior forward Caroline Kastor posted both a goal and an assist, entering both categories again against Purdue Sunday. Kastor also already moved up in the school’s record books this season. The Wichita, Kan., native’s six points have moved her past Emily Cressy to fifth on the school’s all-time points chart with 57. Kastor is also approaching milestones in other categories as she currently ranks sixth in career goals (22) and seventh in game-winning goals (6). The senior’s 22 goals are just one shy of Whitney Berry’s, Monica Dolinsky’s and Emily Cressy’s career totals of 23, which tie for third most at KU all-time.
 
Up Next
KU will return home to host the Kansas Invitational Sept. 13-15. The Jayhawks will begin the weekend with a 4:30 p.m. kickoff against San Diego which will be televised on Metro Sports and ESPN3.com. KU will return to the pitch two days later when it goes up against San Francisco on Sept. 15 at 12 p.m.