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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SOCCER
Goalies compete for coveted starting spot
RYAN MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
Nearly every college soccer program is happy putting one efficient goalkeeper in the net, let alone two.
Junior Kat Liebetrau knows the ins and outs of the Division 1 stage. She is a crafty veteran who scrapes and claws for each save.
Freshman Kaitlyn Stroud is a lanky player whose athletic frame makes it tricky for any striker to get a ball past her net.
Both players have their own unique qualities and neither express any animosity toward her teammate for starting minutes.
"Of course it's competition, but we leave on the field and we come off the field as friends." Stroud said. "It's been really great. Obviously there's time where she's strong in some things, I'm strong in some things."
Associate coach Kelly Miller instructs the goalkeepers throughout the week on tactics. Miller has been on the Kansas coaching staff for 13 years.
"Their competitiveness in terms of both wanting playing time certainly helps drive both of them to
their highest potential," he said.
Throughout weekly practices, the goalkeepers practice individually or as a pair with Miller, working on their technical skills, sometimes an hour before the team convenes for training.
Miller said in all his years he's never seen a race between keepers this tight, where each one deserves equal minutes. He said that since both goalies are playing so well the two of them have made that decision for the coaching staff.
Stroud was in goal for the Jayhawks' lone loss of the season, but Liebetrau has given up two more goals than Stroud overall.
At this point they're both eager to get the team's first shutout of the season, which may be the only blemish on the Jayhawks resume thus far.
"We're both fighting really hard for the starting spot," Liebetrau said. "We're both doing really well. We're both neck and neck. Honestly, everyone wants playing time."
Both players try to keep the same frame of mind when it comes to playing between the pipes.
"We know we've been competing and we both have the same mental
attitude, but it's a good drive for us," Liebietrau said. "Individually it makes us stronger and it makes work harder in practice."
For Miller, he sees two similar performers, but there is a vast difference when it comes to the stat sheet. Liebetrau holds a major advantage in career minutes.
"She's a little more even-keeled and not getting too emotional," he said. "Kaitlyn being new to it is definitely learning. In her freshman year she can be emotional, but that can also aid you."
This is why Miller stresses the importance of vocal communication for the young defensive squad that stands in front of them.
"As a goalkeeper, you are seeing the whole field, and so you can organize everyone," he said. "Their relationship with either goalkeeper is great."
As the girls get acquainted with balancing their school schedules and hording off offenders, they want to make sure they continue to stay focused on day-to-day improvements on the field.
Edited by Rachel Schultz
Freshman goalkeeper, Kathryn Stroud, celebrates a goal from a teammate which resulted in a Jayhawk win with a final score of 2-1 against South Dakota State University.
NICK SMITH/KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Statistics for Northern Illinois do not tell the whole story
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway@kansan.com
twitter.com/UDK_B12Fball
The Kansas Jayhawks ran all over the McNeese State defense in the season opener, amassing 301 yards on the ground. In week two, they will face Northern Illinois, a team that surrendered 303 yards to Army in their first game.
As good as that match-up looks on paper for the Jayhawks, it will be more difficult than the numbers would suggest.
"Northern Illinois has a great defense, but the one thing about
Army is they present a different type of offense, the wishbone. It's a little bit different," Reggie Mitchell, running back coach, said.
The wishbone offense relies heavily on the run and rarely uses the pass. This can obscure numbers for teams that run the wishbone. Against Northern Illinois, Army ran the ball 63 times while passing the ball 16 times.
"With us, it's going to be more conventional. We're doing a lot of the same things they're doing on offense so it'll be interesting to see if we can run the ball as well as we did last week," Mitchell said.
The layhawks put up a similar run to pass ratio as Army in their opener, but it wasn't the offensive scheme that led them there. Chuck Long, offensive coordinator, said the team was fortunate not to have to open up their playbook in the first game and that they were able to hold some things back for future opponents.
When they did pass, the Jayhawks passed effectively. The rushing attack opened up receivers downfield. Although he only attempted 10 passes, sophomore quarterback Jordan Webb threw for three touchdowns in the game.
and averaged 20.8 yards per completion.
"It makes it a lot easier on me. The coverage's start coming down, and we get shots over the top, then it's up to me to hit them and the receivers to catch them," Webb said.
The Javhawks' offense could be without two of its primary receivers come Saturday. Senior Daymond Patterson is listed as questionable heading into the match-up and sophomore Christian Matthews was suspended for violating team rules.
Northern Illinois is in its first
year under new coach Dave Doeren. Doeren was previously the defensive coordinator for Wisconsin:
This transition forces the Kansas staff to analyze old Wisconsin game film to get an understanding of how Doeren likes to run his offense, especially when his first game was against such a different style of offense.
Unlike last week's opponent, Northern Illinois is not as big of a blitzing team. Long said that Doeren likes to keep everything in front of him.
you're usually going to fall back to what you know when its all said and done," Long said.
"He's had a very consistent defensive nature in every game.
Northern Illinois will give the Jayhawks all the trouble they can to prevent them from going more than 300 yards again.
"If I ever heard a team gave up 300, I feel like we can also do it because, I don't know who they played last week, but I don't think they have a backfield that's as strong as ours," freshman running back Darrian Miller said.
- Edited by Jonathan Shorman
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ATHLETICS
New swimming director appointed
The Kansas Athletic Department appointed Tegan Thornberry as the new swimming and
diving director of team operations this week. She will act as a liaison with student athlete services, coordinate team travel and
travel and work
Thornberry
with coaches submitting weekly practice logs to compliance.
"We are excited Tegan will
be joining our staff," said coach Clark Campbell. "She has worked with us before for certain events and was a great asset."
Working for the Kansas Athletics Department since August of 2003, Thornberry also serves the same position for track and field and cross country teams. Thornberry was previously responsible for managing the travel of the school's Olympic sports. Now that Thornberry has been assigned this full-time position, Campbell believes recruitment will improve
"Now, she can help on a day-to-day basis with meet
management, travel and several other duties. Tegan on staff will allow Jen (Fox), Eric (Elliott) and me to coach and recruit more effectively," said Campbell.
Born in Seoul, South Korea and graduating from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, Thornberry played softball and golf in high school.Thornberry attended the University of Kansas and was a member of the women's golf team. While she was in college, Thornberry was also a manager for the Kansas men's basketball team.
— Edited by C.J. Matson
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