THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 13
SPORTS
Soccer team makes NCAA tournament
The Kansas women's soccer team will host the Georgia Bulldogs on Sundav.
RYAN MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2011
It was still unknown until Monday's NCAA Tournament Selection Show whether the Kansas soccer team would be one of the 64 teams selected to participate. Instead of gathering the team together, the coaching staff decided it would be better for everyone to watch the show on their own.
However, that afternoon found several players gathered around a computer screen at Wagnon Student Athlete Center, watching the selection show online.
The players waited in anticipation throughout the show to see if the Jayhawks made the tournament. When the final bracket was about to be unveiled, they were almost
Junior forward Whitney Berry was one of the players in the computer lab, and said they screamed so loud that they got in trouble by the building staff.
After all the euphoria of making the tournament has begun to subside, the players are now focused on the task at hand
certain they would not be in. But lo and behold, the Kansas named flashed onto the screen, followed quickly by the excited screams of all the players.
"They're very comparable to the top four or five teams in our conference," he said.
- playing against the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday.
Kansas coach Mark Francis said that he has already begun looking at a few tapes and scouting reports of the Bulldogs.
Francis also said that Georgia plays a 4-3-3 formation, the same as Kansas, so that will be another similar trait the Jayhawks can use to their advantage.
season. Despite the loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 28, the Jayhawks feel like they are prepared.
"We have to bring our intensity to every game from the beginning," said sophomore forward Amy Grow. "I think that's a big part is coming out from the start and giving it our all."
For the players, it's all about coming out and playing with the same concentration they have all
To beat the Bulldogs, the Jayhawks feel like they need to continue to put in a few more good days of practice before playing to their maximum potential.
MADI HILLIS sophomore defender
"We've just got to maintain that level and maybe even go beyond that level and keep
performing at the highest level we can," Francis said.
The Jayhawks enter the tournament with a young team this year as all 11 starting players, including six freshmen, will
return next year.
"We obviously have such a young team," Francis said. "I think they've matured a lot because they're played so many minutes, and I think we're at a different place now than we were six weeks ago."
The other element to the Kansas tournament scenario that could benefit the Jayhawks is the decision by the University that all Kansas students will get into the game free with their KUID.
"It's really exciting, especially since we haven't been in the tournament the past couple of years," said sophomore defender Madi Hillis. "I think we're all looking forward to it."
This is the fifth tournament appearance in the 17 years of Kansas soccer.The last one came in 2008.
The first round matchup begins on Sunday, Nov. 13 at noon at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
Edited by Jason Bennett
Junior forward Whitney Berry pushes the ball past an Oklahoma defender during the game against Oklahoma on Oct. 28 in Lawrence. Kansas was selected to participate in the NCAA Division 1 tournament and will face Georgia on Sunday at noon.
NIKE TRE. SMITH/KANSAN
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