THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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TYLER ROSTE/KANSAN
Forward Courtney Dickerson attempts to make a shot on the Denver goal. The Jayhawks lost to Denver by the score of 1-0.
Jayhawks to stay busy throughout fall break
NICOLE EVANS
nevans@kansan.com
With a little luck and great timing, the soccer team managed a double-overtime victory over TCU on Sunday.
Now Kansas will try to raise its intensity and improve its consistency as it faces some strong teams in the upcoming weeks.
PAGE 38
"It was an interesting weekend," coach Mark Francis said. "It was tough to play on Sunday. By the end of regulation, we were a little deflated, but we talked about it. We messed up, but the game was still there for the taking, and we were able to dominate the overtime periods."
Kansas will host the West Virginia Mountaineers this Friday. The Mountaineers are 7-3-3 so far this year. West Virginia struggled early on in the season but persevered. The team now is riding a five-game win streak, which includes an eight-game unbeaten streak. West Virginia has only been shutout twice this year. On the other hand the Mountaineers have shut out five teams themselves. West Virginia allowed 13 goals so far this year, the same mark as Kansas.
The Mountaineers have a versatile squad this year, with 11 different players finding the back of the net. They are led in scoring by
junior forward Frances Silva, who has eight goals, and sophomore forward Kate Schwindel, who has seven goals.
five players who have scored, but those players have been consistent strikers.
While the Jayhawks only have
The Jay-
hawks will
have to lea-
n on their quin-
tet of scorers
in order to sneak past sophomore goalkeeper Sara Keane, who has played every match this season.
"I think we're playing pretty well for the most part, individually and collectively."
The Jayhawk defense will be able strengthen its security of the final third of the pitch with the return of senior defender Cassie Dickerson, who got injured earlier in the season.
Kansas will not be left idling during fall break as it will be preparing for three matches on the road in a course of just over a week. On Sunday, the Jayhawks will travel and face the Wake Forest Demon Decons, a team that is 9-3-1 on the season and 3-2 in conference. Wake Forest has been on a roller coaster of success the past five matches, alternating victories and losses. They most recently shut out Clemson at home,
4-0, and are slotted to play Virginia before welcoming the Jayhawks on Sunday.
On Oct. 12, the Jayhawks will take on the Oklahoma Sooners, who hold a 4-6-4 record overall and 0-2-2 in conference play. The
MARK FRANCIS Head Coach
Oklahoma Soon-
Oklahoma Sooners are traveling through a rough patch this season, not securing a victory since early September. They haven't given up easily, though. The Sooners have
had six of their matches going into double-overtime, four of which the Sooners managed to tie.
It will be their hard will and determination that Kansas will need to break in order to add a win to the record books. The Jayhawks will then travel to take on Texas on Oct. 14.
"I think we're playing pretty well for the most part, individually and collectively, so I think we just need to maintain that and continue to push to a higher level," Francis said.
The Jayhawks will play at home this Friday before another trip on the road, with the game starting earlier than normal at 4 p.m. at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.
GOLF
Simson and Skinner meet in the USGA Amateur final
"I have about another 15 minutes to celebrate and then I have to get ready for tomorrow," said Simson, who grew up in nearby Chatham. "I had it going today. I knew I was going to have a tough match with Jim and I just can't get over some of the things I did out there. I think I hit every fairway and even green."
WEST CALDWELL, N.J. — Paul Simson and Curtis Skinner won quarterfinal and semifinal matches Wednesday to advance to the USGA Senior Amateur final at wet and foozy Mountain Ridge Country Club.
The 61-year-old Simson, the 2010 winner from Raleigh, N.C., beat Jim Knoll of Sunnyville, Calif., 3 and 2 in
the semifinals.
Associated Press
— Edited by Ryan McCarthy
"You have to spend so much time trying to stop (Klein) as a runner, it obviously exposes you in the pass game," said Weis, whose job it will be on Saturday to find an answer when the Jayhawks visit the Wildcats for the first time in his tenure at Kansas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
They've already thrown for 758 yards through four games, an increase of nearly 50 percent over last year, and quarterback Collin Klein is completing about 70 percent of his throws. So far, he's connected on 15 plays of at least 20 years, more than double this point last season.
MANHATTAN, Kan. — In a league of high-powered offenses that love to air it out, Kansas State is a misfit.
"Sometimes they get some really easy money because you have to come up and stop him," Weis said. "If you can't stop him, you don't have much of a chance to win the game."
The No. 7 Wildcats would prefer, in the words of Kansas coach Charlie Weis, to "am it down your throat every single play." But an improved passing game has allowed the Wildcats to be more balanced, and that's made them even more difficult to stop than last season.
FOOTBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
As long as Bill Snyer is at the helm, Kansas State isn't likely to abandon its steady, clock-eating approach in favor of a full-on shootout mentality, the kind that resulted in West Virginia's 70-63 basketball-like final score last Saturday over Baylor.
Jayhawks focus on Klein
Kansas State kick returner Tramaine Thompson (86) jumps over Oklahoma linebacker Tom Wort (21) in the fourth quarter of a football game in Norman, Okla. Kansas State won 24-19.
Still, it looks like the Wildcats' goal of a more balanced offense is being realized.
Klein is integral to the system, but credit is also due the group of offensive linemen who have protected the Heisman Trophy hopeful well despite injury problems.
The Wildcats have been without right guard Boston Stirverson and left guard Nick Puetz most of the season. As a result, the lone returning starter is center
"They work together so well," Snyder said. "Pass protection, so much of it is communication prior to and after the snap of the football, being able to adjust to a variety of different things that can take place."
B. J. Finney, Senior Cornelius Lucas, redshirt freshman Cody Whitehair, junior college transfer Tavon Rooks and junior Keenan Taylor have been counted on to pick up the slack.
Besides providing competent pass protection, the offensive line's discipline is a major reason why Kansas State has been assessed just eight penalties for 64 yards over four games. The Wildcats are far and away the best in the Big 12 at avoiding yellow flags — the next team in line is Kansas, which has racked up 18 penalties for 129 yards.
While the senior quarterback has worked extensively on his delivery since the summer, his most important reason for newfound success could be his relationships with those on the other end of his passes: wide receivers Tramine Thompson, Tyler Lockett, Curry Sexton and Chris Harper.
Another boon to the passing game has been Klein's chemistry with his pass catchers.
Snyder said the feel between quarterback and receiver, the comfort and familiarity that comes only with many repetitions, has developed between Klein and his teammates.
"It's having that good understanding of who's going to where and when and how they're going to get there and when the ball's going to get there," Snyder said.