Jayhawks Welcome TCU for Senior Night Friday

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks will look to shake a three-game losing skid when they go up against the TCU Horned Frogs on Friday, Oct. 30 at Rock Chalk Park. The match, set to kick off at 7 p.m., will mark the final home appearance of the Jayhawk senior class, which will be honored following the game.
 
PROMOTIONS

• Senior Day: Celebrate the 2015 senior class
• Kick or Treat: Free admission to all kids 13 and under wearing a costume, accompanying parents admitted for $5.
• Costume Parade and the Batmobile display on the concourse.
• Jersey Giveaway: Raffle Ticket available at the door to all fans in attendance; no purchase necessary.
• Giveaway: Jersey Koozie

ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas is looking to rebound following three-straight shutout losses to West Virginia, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State on the road. KU has already clinched its spot at the Big 12 Championship to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, Nov. 4-8 and still has the ability to claim the No. 4 seed in the league tournament.
 
The KU offense has hit a rough patch recently, unable to net a goal in its last 271 minutes of play. On the season, Kansas is averaging over 16 shots per match and is putting 39.7 percent of those shots on target. Kansas has seen seven different goal scorers, six of whom have tallied multiple goals. Senior Liana Salazar and freshman Grace Hagan both lead the squad with four goals on the year. Salazar, fellow senior Ashley Williams and freshman Parker Roberts have combined for almost half of the team’s total shots this season as well as eight of the squad’s 15 assists.
 
After wrapping up a 307-minute opponent scoreless streak on Oct. 16, Kansas has since allowed nine goals in its last three games, the most in a three-game span since the Jayhawks let in 13 opponent goals against Florida, Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts from September 18-25, 2011. Jayhawk opponents have notched 13.3 shots per game with a total of 88 on target, or an average of 5.2 per match. Sophomore Maddie Dobyns has started all 17 matches in goal for the Jayhawks. She is boasting a save percentage of .759 and has a goals-against average of 1.17 with 63 saves in over 1,500 minutes of action.
 
ABOUT THE HORNED FROGS
After winning seven of its eight matches in the month of September, TCU has failed to claim a victory in October, going 0-3-2 in its last five outings. TCU is in the middle of a difficult stretch where it will play three matches in a six-day span. The Horned Frogs played to a 1-1 draw with the Baylor Bears on Tuesday in Fort Worth.
 
The TCU offense has had an up and down season, averaging 2.3 goals per game over its first 12 matches, but only managing a total of two goals in its last five games. The Horned Frogs are averaging 1.76 goals and 13.8 shots per match. TCU has also gotten over 46 percent of its tries on frame. Four different players have recorded at least three goals on the season. Junior forward Michelle Prokof leads her team with nine goals while sophomore defender Ryan Williams is tops on the squad with five assists. Six different Horned Frogs have posted at least 20 shots this season, with Prokof leading the way via her 32 shots.
 
The TCU defense has also seen a roller coaster season, posting seven shutouts in its first 12 outings but allowing nine goals in its five most recent outings. The Horned Frogs have allowed an average of 13.8 opponent shots in their first 17 games, in which TCU opponents are getting 4.9 shots on frame per match. Junior Shannon Coffer and sophomore Courtney Hofer have split time in goal for the Horned Frogs this season. Together they have tallied 64 saves for an average of 3.8 per appearance and have collected eight shutouts. They are also boasting a goals-against average of 1.09 and a save percentage of .771.
 
Eric Bell is in his fourth season as the head coach of the TCU women’s soccer program. In his three-plus seasons in Fort Worth, Bell has amassed a record of 29-35-12. Prior to TCU, Bell spent the previous six seasons with the Florida State Seminoles.
 
LAST TIME OUT
A pair of goals at both ends of the first half propelled the Oklahoma State Cowgirls past the Kansas Jayhawks, 2-0, Sunday afternoon inside the Cowgirl Soccer Complex. The match marked the third-straight shutout loss for the Jayhawks as they head into their final outing of the regular season.
 
For the second time in three games, Kansas allowed an opponent goal within the opening three minutes of the match. The Cowgirls’ senior striker Madison Mercado managed to send in a shot less than 90 seconds after the opening whistle, after she was found unmarked at the top of the Kansas penalty area. The strike was Mercado’s fourth goal of the season and put the Jayhawks in an early 1-0 hole.
 
The Jayhawks and Cowgirls appeared to be heading to the locker room at the 1-0 score line but a breakdown in the Kansas box yielded OSU’s second score of the afternoon. With Oklahoma State on the attack in the 44th minute, a Cowgirl sent in a hard-hit cross into the KU six-yard box. Kansas goalkeeper Maddie Dobyns attempted to fall on the ball but it popped loose, and right to the foot of OSU sophomore defender Niki McKnight. McKnight redirected the loose ball into the back of the KU net to give her team a two-goal lead into the halftime locker room.
 
SO LONG, SENIORS
Friday’s match will mark the final home game for Jayhawk seniors Courtney Dickerson, Liana Salazar and Ashley Williams. These three have been a part of 51 KU victories since Salazar’s freshman season in 2011 and have helped their team to its fifth-straight Big 12 tournament berth. Combined, these three accumulated 162 starts and have played over 13,500 minutes in the Crimson and Blue. This senior class has also combined for 52 goals, a mark that ranks third behind the 2005 (77) and the 2004 (58) senior classes.
 
LET’S GET DEFENSIVE
KU recently closed out a 307-minute opponent scoring streak, the 10th-longest streak in school history, and the third streak longer than 290 minutes since the start of the 2014 season.
 
Kansas opponents’ lack of goal scoring may be attributed to the Jayhawks’ ability to keep the opposing team’s shot on goal percentage low. Of the 226 shots KU has allowed this season, opponents are putting just 39 percent those on target and only getting 9.7 percent of those shots past goalkeeper, Maddie Dobyns.
 
A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
It appears as though the Jayhawks have fielded two different teams this season: the team that began the year with only two victories in its first seven matches, and the one that rattled off six wins in its next seven outings, which helped KU turn around the season. The difference in squads over those two periods of the 2015 season is apparent by much more than just looking at wins and losses.
 
In its first seven matches, the Kansas offense endured several stagnant stretches, netting only five goals, posting two scoreless streaks of more than 200 minutes and being shutout in four of those seven outings. KU was posting 15.4 shots per match but only putting 38 percent of those on goal. Since then though, Kansas’ offense has been stellar. In its next seven games, the Jayhawks shot in 14 goals, which were scored by seven different players. KU has also averaged 18 shots in those seven outings and has put nearly 43 percent of them on target.
 
It wasn’t just the Kansas offense that has seen marked improvement, the KU defense has also taken a turn for the better. During the Jayhawks’ 2-4-1 start, they allowed nine goals, but in the seven games to follow, allowed only four opponent goals to find the back of their net, which included four shutouts. The Kansas defense has also substantially dropped the opposition’s shot-on-goal percentage, which measures how many of a team’s shot attempts are put on frame. In KU’s first seven outings, teams were managing to put just under half (49.3 percent) of their shots on goal, but over its next seven matches, that number has dropped to a minuscule 31.7 percent.
 
CLUTCH JAYHAWKS
KU has seen numerous instances of late-game heroics already this year. Of the 19 goals Kansas has scored this season, 10 of them have come within the final 25 minutes of regulation or in overtime. Six KU game-winning goals have also come within the final 25 minutes of action, including Ashley Williams’ goal in the 89th minute versus Oklahoma (10/11).
 
Speaking of game-winners, a total of four different Jayhawks have posted at least one game-winning goal this season.
 
SPREADING THE WEALTH
The Kansas offense has shown to be a tough assignment for opposing defenses this year after a host of Jayhawks have made their presence known on the stat sheet. Six different Jayhawks have netted at least two goals, while a total of 10 have had their hand in at least one of the team’s 19 goals thus far in 2015, either scoring or assisting. Seven additional players have managed to tally at least one shot. While seniors Liana Salazar and Ashley Williams and freshman Parker Roberts have notched almost have of the team’s total shots (128), eight of their teammates can boast adding 10 or more attempts to the team’s total of 244.
 
This is a trend that carried over from last year’s squad, as nine different players managed to post double-figure shots and 14 Jayhawks tallied at least one goal or assist in 2014.
 
RPI REVIEW
With the release of the season’s several Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) report by the NCAA this week, several good signs stick out for the Jayhawks. Kansas checked in at No. 78 on the list that takes numerous factors into account including strength of schedule, record against top-50 teams and home versus road record. The ranking marked the 15th-straight RPI release that Kansas has found itself ranked among the top-80 in the NCAA, dating back to last season.
 
This week’s report shows that the Big 12 is among the nation’s toughest conferences after the conclusion of non-conference play. The league boasts six of its nine teams inside the top-80. The conference’s high ranking also means the Jayhawks will get plenty of chances to up their national standing as they have at least two more matches against league foes.
 
FEEDING ON NON-CON
With its win over South Dakota State on Sept. 25 to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Jayhawks made it eight-straight seasons with a .500 winning percentage or better against regular-season non-conference foes. Over the last four seasons, Kansas has posted an impressive 27-12-4 mark in its 43 regular-season non-conference matches (64.7%), which includes a 15-5-1 mark in the last two years. Since the start of the 2012 season, KU has outscored non-con opponents by a tally of 74-37.
 
Mark Francis has led KU to a winning record in non-con in 16 of his 17 seasons in Lawrence and is now 106-44-8 in regular-season non-conference games.
 
OUTSTANDING IN OVERTIME
Kansas’ win over Baylor on Oct. 9 added to a recent trend of successful outcomes when the Jayhawks play in overtime matches. KU’s Sept. 4 loss to Santa Clara in the 102nd minute marked the end of an impressive streak for KU as the team had been unbeaten in seven-straight matches that had gone to overtime. Before that, Kansas’ previous loss in an overtime match came at the hands of Northwestern on Aug.19, 2012.
 
In his career, Mark Francis’ KU teams are 15-18-22 in matches decided in overtime for a winning percentage of .474, but over the last four-plus seasons, the Jayhawks have turned up their game in extra time. Including its extra time wins over Colorado College, Arkansas and Baylor, Kansas is 9-4-1 in overtime games since the start of the 2011 season.
 
FIRST TO SCORE, WINS GALORE
Over its past 77 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 77-game span, the Jayhawks have been on the losing end only once in the games which they have put in the match’s first goal. Kansas has amassed a record of 38-1-2 in those games, which already includes a 6-0-0 mark this year. The Jayhawks’ win against Oklahoma on Oct. 11 marked their 28th-consecutive victory in games which KU has scored first.
 
On the flip side, KU hasn’t been quite as fortunate when its opponents have gotten on the board first. Kansas’ wins over Colorado College and Arkansas on Sept. 13 and Sept. 17, respectively, were the first and only wins in that same 77-game span when finding itself trailing 1-0 at any point in a match. The Jayhawks are 2-32-1 in those games over the last three years, including an 0-6-0 mark in 2014 and a 2-8-0 mark this season.
 
JUST ONE WILL DO IT
The 2015 Jayhawks have already carried on an impressive trend that has developed over the last three seasons when it comes to scoring. Since the start of the 2012 season, the Kansas soccer team has scored at least one goal in 50 matches. The Jayhawks’ record in those matches: 40-7-3. Kansas was won or drawn all but seven matches in which it has scored, including a 23-4-0 record in those instances this season and last.
 
UP NEXT
With a win against TCU Friday evening, the Jayhawks will clinch themselves a No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6 seed for the Big 12 Championship to be hosted in Kansas City’s Swope Soccer Village, Nov. 4-8. If Kansas claims the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, its first match of the tournament will be at 2 p.m., Nov. 4. If the Jayhawks are the No. 6 seed they will play the No. 3 seed Texas Longhorns at 8 p.m. Each game of the tournament will be available to watch via a free live stream through Big12Sports.com, with the championship match to be televised on Fox Sports1.
 
 
 
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