Jayhawks to Battle Jackrabbits, Redbirds this Weekend

Weekend Notes

WEEKEND INFORMATION

Freshman defender Aurélie Gagnet
Friday at South Dakota State
Time 6 p.m. (CT)
Location Brookings, S.D.
Venue Fishback Soccer Park
Live Stats KU vs. SDSU
Watch Jackrabbit Extra ($)
Follow @KUWSoccer

Sunday vs. Illinois State
Time 1 p.m. (CT)
Location Lawrence, Kan.
Venue Jayhawk Soccer Complex
Live Stats KU vs. ISU
Listen Jayhawk Digital Passport
Follow @KUWSoccer

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas soccer will see its third road-home split of 2013 this weekend when the Jayhawks hit the road for Brookings, S.D., to take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits Friday, before welcoming the Illinois State Redbirds to Lawrence on Sunday. Kansas is looking to snap its current three-game losing streak against the teams that are both boasting win streaks of three games. KU and SDSU are scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff Friday night, while Sunday’s Illinois State match in Lawrence is slated for 1 p.m.
 
Follow the Jayhawks
While Friday’s match in Brookings will not be available via Jayhawk Digital Passport, fans will be able to tune in to Sunday’s game against the Redbirds. Throughout 2013 fans can subscribe to Jayhawk Digital Passport in daily, monthly or yearly increments to listen to the play-by-play call of Josh Kurelac. Just go to www.KUAthletics.com/showcase to get your subscription. Fans can also get live updates by logging on to KU soccer’s live stats for up-to-the-minute statistics from every Jayhawk match. Go to www.sidearmstats.com/kansas/wsoc during every home game and enjoy. Don’t forget to follow on Twitter at @KUWSoccer for another great way to stay connected to KU Soccer.
 
Series Histories
The match Friday night in Brookings will be the third between the Jayhawks and Jackrabbits as the two’s previous meetings each came within the last four seasons. Most recently in 2011, KU took down SDSU by a score of 2-1 in Lawrence. Kansas holds an all-time record of 5-2-0 against Summit League squads. Kansas and Illinois State have met four times previously with the Jayhawks taking wins in each of the first three matches, before the Redbirds claimed the 2010 match by a score of 2-1 in Normal.
 
About the Jayhawks
Kansas (3-4-1) is in the middle of a four-game winless streak after dropping a 2-0 decision to San Diego last Friday (9/13) and falling to San Francisco, 1-0, as part of the Kansas Invitational last weekend in Lawrence.
 
The Kansas offense is outshooting its opponents by an average margin of +4.0 per match, however KU’s accuracy has wavered of late, seeing the Jayhawks’ shot on goal percentage dip to 39.8 percent. Senior forward Caroline Kastor leads the team with three goals on the year, while junior teammate Jamie Fletcher has tallied two assists and added a team-leading 28 shots on the season. Kansas has shown to be an unselfish team in the early going of 2013 as seven different Jayhawks have entered the scoring column already this year.
 
Defense is what the Jayhawks have hung their hat on in the early portion of the season. KU has also already notched an impressive opponent scoreless streak this year, not allowing a goal for 348:34-straight minutes, beginning with the Arkansas match and ending in the game versus Purdue. Kaitlyn Stroud is second among Big 12 goalkeepers in saves with 34 on the year. The junior already has tallied two shutouts and is boasting a 1.22 goals against average, nearly .5 points less than her career average.
 
Scouting the Jackrabbits
South Dakota State is currently riding a six-game unbeaten streak after dropping its first two matches of the season and now boasts a record of 4-2-2. The Jackrabbits have had trouble putting in goals thus far in 2013, with only nine through their first eight games; however they have only allowed five goals and just one during their six-game unbeaten streak.
 
South Dakota State is outshooting its opponents by a wide margin, tallying 17.4 shots per match and allowing only 8.1 opponent shots per match. SDSU hasn’t seen great accuracy with its great number of attempts however, putting less than 44 percent of them on frame. Alyssa Brazil leads the Jackrabbits with three goals on the year, while Diana Potterveld is tops in shots with 22, 11 of which have been on goal.
 
The SDSU defense is giving up only 0.62 opponent goals per match which includes five shutouts already this year. Opposing shooters are getting just under 50 percent of their attempts on frame versus the Jackrabbits. SDSU goalkeeper Nicole Inskeep has started all eight of her team’s games this year, boasts a .839 save percentage and a 0.58 goals against average with 26 saves in 2013.
 
Lang Wedemeyer is in his 14th year as the head coach of the South Dakota State women’s soccer program. Overall, he has tallied a record of 118-97-28 in his first 13 seasons with the Jackrabbits.
 
Scouting the Redbirds
Illinois State is 5-4 on the season after claiming three-straight victories against SEMO and No. 22 Marquette last weekend and St. Louis Tuesday. The Redbirds have already played two Big 12 squads this season, topping TCU in Fort Worth, 2-1 before falling to Texas in Austin two days later, 2-1.
The Illinois State offense is scoring 2.1 times per game with the help of 12.9 shots per match. Junior forward Rachel Tejada has tallied seven of the team’s 19 goals so far this season and has sent in 31 of the team’s 116 shots. The ISU offense has been accurate with its shot selection so far this year as 16.4 percent of its shots have found the back of the net.
 
The  Redbird defense is allowing 2.33 goals per game and is giving up 14.8 opponent shots a match. It’s also been relatively easy for opponents to amass shots on goal with ISU allowing 8.0 per game. Junior goalkeeper Aryn Newsom has started each of the Redbird’s first eight contests, tallying one shutout and 2.34 goals allowed per match. Newsom has tallied 38 saves so far in 2013 with a .704 save percentage.
 
Head coach Drew Roff is in his seventh year at Illinois State. In his time with the Redbirds, Roff has amassed a record of 68-37-10 in his first six seasons at the helm. Since arriving in Normal, Roff has guided his teams to three Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
 
Problematic Start, No Problem
The University of Kansas has been below .500 through its first eight games of a season only one other time during the Mark Francis era. The 2007 squad began its year at 1-6-1 through its first eight matches and dropped as far as 1-8-2 after 11 games. However, that group finished its season strong, going 6-1-2 over its final nine contests of the regular season. That team outscored its opponents 17-8, went 1-0-2 against top-25 opponents and tallied three shutouts over that final nine-game span.
 
This Day in KU Soccer History
Sept. 20, 2009 – Junior forward Rachel Morris scored two goals and added an assist, while freshman Whitney Berry chipped in two assists as 22nd-ranked Kansas captured the 2009 Jayhawk Invitational title with a 4-0 victory over South Dakota State and improved to 7-1-1 on the year. The meeting was the first ever between the two schools in the regular season after meeting the Jackrabbits several times during spring exhibition play.
(KU All-Time Record on Sept. 20: 1-4)
 
Sept. 22, 2006 – The Jayhawks fell victim to an unlucky bounce in the second overtime at Oklahoma State as a loose ball on the near side of the net bounced away from goalkeeper Julie Hanley and to OSU’s Yolanda Odenyo who tapped the ball into an open net. Odenyo’s goal in the 106th minute led Oklahoma State to a 1-0 double-overtime triumph over KU in the Big 12 match. The loss dropped KU to 5-3 on the year and gave the Cowgirls just their second win over the Jayhawks in the previous 10 tries.
(KU All-Time Record on Sept. 22: 0-4)
 
First to Score, Wins Galore
Over its past 28 games dating back to the beginning of the 2012 season, Kansas has developed an interesting trend when it comes to which team tallies the first goal of the match. During that 28-game span, the Jayhawks are undefeated in games which they have put in the match’s first score. Kansas has amassed a record of 13-0-2 in those games. On the flip side however, KU hasn’t been quite as fortunate when its opponents have gotten on the board first. Kansas has not won a game in that same 28-game span when finding itself trailing 1-0 at any point a match. The Jayhawks are 0-12-1 in those games over the last two seasons, including a 0-4-0 mark this year.
 
Odds and Ends

  • Kansas’ back-to-back losses last weekend to San Diego and San Francisco marked the first time since Oct. 8-10, 2010 the Jayhawks lost both matches of a home weekend.
  • After tallying 16 offside penalties through the first four games of the season, KU has been flagged for offside just four times in its last four contests.
  • Senior Caroline Kastor needs just four more goals to pass Rachel Gilfillan (2001-04) to sit alone at No. 2 on Kansas’ all-time goal scoring charts.
  • In the second half or later this season, Kansas is outshooting its opponents by an average margin of +3.4, whereas in the first half, the margin is only +0.63.
  • After notching only five total shots in each of her freshman and sophomore seasons, junior defender Caroline Van Slambrouck has already amassed six shots through just eight games this year.
  • KU is currently enduring a scoring drought of 370:42 minutes, the second-longest in the Mark Francis era behind the 2007 squad’s 536:07 minute scoreless streak.
  • The Jayhawks’ four-game winless streak is their longest since KU lost six straight from Oct. 8-Oct. 25, 2010.

 
Up Next
The Jayhawks will jet to the west coast as they compete in their final non-conference game of the 2013 campaign. Kansas will take on the Santa Clara Broncos on Friday, Sept. 27 in a match scheduled for 9 p.m. (CT). KU will then have a week to prepare for its Big 12-opener at Iowa State on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.
 
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
 
###