THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2007
3B
CAUZILLO (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
"My focus is to get a point, whether it's an assist or a goal, for the sake of my team," she said. And she has. Cauzillo has three three-point contests this season and has recorded a goal and an assist in games against Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Nebraska this year.
This season Cauzillo has also recorded the most shot attempts at 13, and she has a 76.9 percent shots on goal mark. In her career at Kansas, she has scored a total of nine goals, taken 87 shot attempts — 45 of those on goal — and had three game-winning goals.
PATH TO KANSAS
Cauzillo began playing with a soccer ball when she was three years old. Always having looked up to her older sister, who also played soccer, Cauzillo began playing competitively at age eight. She stayed on the same club team, the Michigan Hawks, for eight years. After the team won a national championship, it was time for Cauzillo to take the next step and left to play at West Virginia University. She said the school's record drew her to it initially.
During her freshman year, she
started all 23 matches with the Mountaineers, and recorded three goals and two assists on the season. Unhappy with the dynamic of the team, Cauzillo began to look at her options for transferring.
Her desire to regain the same sense of unity shed had playing on her club team led her to the University of Kansas for her sophomore year.
"I had heard good things about Coach Francis," she said. "I really liked the team and the campus. I think the KU campus is one of the most beautiful there."
During her sophomore year, Cauzillo was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, started 18 games and came in third on the team with 14 points for the season. Her junior year, she served as a co-captain for the lajhawks. In the fall, she suffered a concussion after an Oklahoma State player butted heads with her in a chase for the ball. NCAA mandates that a player suffering from a concussion must sit out from games for three weeks after the injury — a large part of the season. During the spring, Cauzillo, excited to get back on the field, discovered she had mono and was given
a medical red shirt for the remainder of the season.
Now Cauzillo is back on the field and racking up points. She said it felt really good to be doing so well this season.
"It was hard to get back into the speed of play," she said, "I missed soccer a lot."
She is especially happy to be sans injuries. Well, except for one. During the summer before her senior year, Cauzillo played on a semi-professional team, and in an attempt to score, she headed the ball into the net, but landed awkwardly on her hand. The goal was scored, but she ended up with more than a sense of accomplishment — she had torn the muscle from the bone in her thumb. The injury still requires that she wear a brace, although it doesn't have much of an effect on Cauzillo's game.
Estatic to be back on the field for her final season, one of Cazillos' personal goals is to make it through smoothly.
"I think my injuries have taught me a lot." Cauzillo said. "They've been stuff I can recover from. But I want to finish this season injury-free."
SUPPORTERS
Cauzillo has a huge support group to get her through this season. Her mother, Linda Cauzillo, tries to make it to every home game and travels to Kansas from Michigan to also hang out with her daughter on the weekends.
Her boyfriend of two years, senior Aumur Mahobian, travels on the road with her as much as he can. He also wears Cauzillo's jersey when he watches her games and his pride in his girlfriend is obvious.
"She makes really good passes, and she has really good touches. She just plays really smart and makes her teammates better," Mahobian said. "When she plays the whole 90 minutes, she can really control the pace of the game. She has so much energy, and she is always running. She's overcome a lot."
In addition to her mom and boyfriend, her biggest fans just might be her younger cousins, who come from Overland Park to cheer her on. Sometimes they come with big signs, and other times they can be heard yelling words of encouragement so loudly that it's hard not to join in.
Her youngest cousin, seven-year-old Jack Krebs, said he liked watching Cauzillo and especially liked to see her score goals.
It seems as though everyone, including her coach, is proud of Cauzillo, considering the odds she's had to overcome and how well she has performed this season.
"I think it's good that she stuck it out. She's had a couple of rough seasons. She's taken advantage of the opportunity knowing that there was a possibility she wouldn't have been playing," coach Mark Francis said. "She's very persistent. I'm happy for her."
Cauzillo has also earned honors this year, by receiving nods from organizations outside of the University. She was selected in her junior year and this year for the Academic All-District 7 Second Team by ESPN The Magazine in late October. Cauzillo is also a two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection, and is eligible to be named to the team again this year.
As a senior, Cauzillo won't be able to play games with the team for the
THE FUTURE
spring season. However, she said coach Francis would be allowing her to practice with the team, because she plans to go on a mission trip to Ethiopia with a semi-professional soccer team in the summer.
With her last game of the regular season behind her and the Big 12 Soccer Championships rapidly approaching, the question of what she will do next isn't far off. Cauzillo will graduate in May with a degree in English and has high hopes for what she'll do after her summer is over.
"I'm applying for Teach for America. I would love to be in Denver, and that where I put as my most preferred spot. I would like to coach a younger team as well," she said.
Soccer-wise, Cauzillo hopes to see her team make it far in the Big 12 championship and the NCAA tournament this season. Cauzillo's dedication to the sport she loves, determination to make her last season the best and her overall ambition for success just might get herself and her teammates there.
Edited by Elizabeth Cattell
Sarah Leonard/KANSAN
Sophomore defensive back Justin Thornton runs downfield after intercepting a Nebraska pass attempt. Kansas caught four interceptions for more than 65 yards.
FOOTBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Kansas' uncanny ability to hold onto the ball stood in bold contrast to Nebraska's sloppy offense later.
last weekend.
Nebraska quarterback
Joe Ganz,
make his first career
start, heaved the
ball into heavy
coverage repeatedly
and ended
the game with
Kansas' uncanny ability to hold onto the ball stood in bold contrast to Nebraska's sloppy offense last weekend.
The Jayhawks' opportunistic streak is not coincidental - players and coaches alike cite the
four interceptions. Reesing threw more touchdowns in one game against the Nebraska defense (six) than he has thrown interceptions all season (four).
"He played lights-out," Mangino said. "He was patient when he had to be on his reads and got the ball to the open guy. He also did a good job of knowing when to throw the ball and when to pull it down."
alike cite the importance of keeping the team's turnover margin in "plus" territory. Senior running back Brandon McAnderson said the team's 9-0 start was
directly correlated to the team's ability to take care of the ball, and senior wide receiver Marcus Henry credited Reesing for his four consecutive interception-free games.
"The biggest thing is our turnover margin. As of today we're plus-13 or something on turnover margin," junior center Ryan Cantrell said. "That's huge because it adds a little bit more fuel to the fire and makes us want to protect the ball."
Cantrell may not have his turnover margin numbers exactly correct, but he has the general idea: Taking care of the ball and taking the ball away from opponents have helped Kansas to a 9-0 start and the No. 4 spot in the BCS rankings.
Edited by Rachel Bock
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"That's what we wanted and that's what Coach Self wants. He wants us to just go and run every chance," Collins said. "We have to be more scrappy because it's three guards and sometimes there's going to be match-up problems. But we just have to go to the boards, and if we make people shoot bad shots we can run."
BASKETBALL (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
Forcing opponents to miss could be a problem. One of the little guards will have to defend the three man for opposing teams, who will likely be at least three inches taller. A taller player could post up against Collins, Chalmers or Robinson and get rebounds more easily. The rebounding problem was apparent last Thursday, Pittsburg State, a Division II school, out-rebounded Kansas 36-33. Chalmers didn't grab a single rebound.
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Self wants their defensive intensity to spread throughout the rest of the team. Robinson expects the three guards to be team leaders.
Chalmers, Robinson and Collins won't be in the starting lineup all season. One of them will likely come off the bench once Rush returns, and their time on the floor together will diminish. Until then, Kansas will have three little guards playing a big role, and Self couldn't be any more pleased.
"I personally wouldn't trade them for anybody," he said. "I really believe that there are a lot of good guards in the country, and this is the year of the
"Guys look up to us, and we appreciate that," Robinson said. "We try to be the best example we can, and they follow our lead and model as great basketball players with great work ethic."
The lack of size could hurt, but the trio's quickness could make up for it. They're three of the best defenders Kansas has to have in memory when it comes to applying
Kansas vs. Fort Hays State,
7 p.m. Allen Fieldhouse
pressure and stealing the ball. The Sons of Steal — Chalmers, Collins and Robinson — stole the ball nine times against Pittsburg State.
The Jayhawks play their second and final exhibition game tonight against the Tigers, another Division II opponent from the MIAA Conference. Kansas coach Bill Self wants the team to improve its defense and rebounding after getting out-rebounded by Pittsburgh State last week and allowing the Gorillas to shoot 40 percent from the field.
gametime
point guard they're saving. Last year there were a lot of good big guys. This year there's probably more guard play, and our guards can match up with anybody. All three are good."
I can't miss class because my grades matter to me.
— Edited by Elizabeth Cattell
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