THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2006
SPORTS 5B
》 FALL SEASON WRAP-UP
Soccer doesn't quite finish season with success
The Kansas soccer team played well, but struggled with scoring during the fall season. The Jayhawks had good defense, but couldn't defeat the Buffaloes in the Big 12 tournament or during the team's final game of the fall.
BY MARK DENT
FILE PHOTO
Before Kansas traveled to San Antonio, Texas, for the Big 12 tournament, a Channel 6 Sports anchor challenged sophomore goalkeeper Julie Hanlev to a shootout.
Hanley barely had to move as she easily caught each one of the anchor's weak attempts.
Unfortunately for Hanley and Kansas, Colorado's shots proved harder to stop when the two teams faced off in a shootout during their first-round game.
Kansas tied Colorado 1-1 on Nov. 1 but didn't advance to the next round after Colorado made more penalty kicks in overtime. The tie to the Buffalooes ended an up and down season in which the Jayhawks (11-7-1, 6-4-1 Big 12 Conference) finished fourth in the Big 12 and were not selected for the NCAA College Cup.
"I was pleased with how we played," Kansas coach Mark Francis said about the loss to Colorado. "I thought we created better chances, but we should've finished more."
Finishing was Kansas' biggest problem throughout the season. The layhawks scored only 29 goals this season, behind eight other Big 12 teams. Kansas scored four goals in an early season victory against nationally ranked Duke, but its inability to score after that game
caused Kansas to "lose four out of six games from Sept. 22 to Oct. 8. Opponents shut out the jayhawks in four of those games and only
allowed them to score two goals.
During that dark stretch, Hanley was the lone bright spot for her team. She recorded two shutouts,
preventing Kansas from losing all six of those games, and allowed only one goal in each of the losses. Understandably, Hanley started to
wonder when the offense would start to pick it up.
"I think all of us — the defense — was getting a little bit frustrated." Hanley said. "We felt like we weren't taking advantage of our opportunities."
The offense finally came to life Oct. 13 against Iowa State. The Jayhawks scored two goals and added eight more during the next three games. Going into the last game of the regular season, Kansas was on a four-game winning streak and Hanley hadn't allowed a goal in 346 minutes.
Colorado halted both streaks. The Buffalooes defeated Kansas in the regular season finale and then did it again at the Big 12 tournament.
"I thought we'd be good this year, which isn't to say we weren't." Francis said. "We've just got to win close games."
Although the Jayhawks didn't finish the season they way they wanted, four players were named to the All Big 12 Second Team and two made the All Big 12 Newcomer Team. Next season, nine freshmen will join nine returning starters.
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
Edited by Travis Robinett
Spotlight Player
It's a good thing the Big 12 Conference and national soccer publications took notice of Jessica Bush's ability
to score
game-
winners,
because
other-
wise,
she
wouldn't
have
noticed.
"I never
really thought about game-winning goals until people brought that up this year," Bush said. "You don't really think like that when you're in the moment. It's just like hey, we're up."
The sophomore midfielder received multiple honors, including All Big 12 Second Team and a spot on Soccer Buzz's National Team of the Week, mainly for scoring four game-winning goals this season.
More importantly, Bush, who paced the Jayhawks with eight goals, sparked the Jayhawks to four straight victories and a fourth place finish in the Big 12.
>> FALL SEASON WRAP-UP
Swimming, Diving prepares for spring
BY DANIEL C.
WEIXELDORFER
In 2005-06, the team finished undefeated in the Big 12.
The Kansas swimming and diving team complemented last season's impressive campaign with a solid 2006 fall season, which the team used to prepare for the Big 12 and NCAA Championships that are held in the spring.
It is hard to expect to accomplish more than we did last season, but we are doing just that and it has given us motivation."
"We wanted to come together as a team, and last season did that for us. Last season really built up our confidence and momentum heading into this season," said assistant coach Jen Fox. "We are excited for the competition."
Since the loss, the team dominated Northern Iowa in one of its only home meets this season and placed second out of 15 teams in the women's division of the Maryland Invite.
Spotlight Player
The Jayhawks remain focused on success in the future.
The Jayhawks suffered a tough loss at rival Missouri in what may have been the turning point of their season.
Jenny Short continues to be a leader for the Jayhawks as they begin to wrap up their fall ses
Short
sion.Most recently,
Short finished with
a 100-yard backstroke
victory (55.70)
while earning an
cut in the event as well. As one of two captains for the team, Short will finish in what could end up as a NCAA qualifying fall session this weekend at the Kenyon Invite. Despite this, Short remains focused on the team and not individual success.
"We are just trying to get better and swim our best come championship time. That is what matters to us as a team," she said.
"What is important to us is we want to swim fast in February and March. We swim hard Monday through Friday and continue to increase our training volume," said coach Clark Campbell. "Being able to compete at a high level will take a while, but it is early."
The team will compete at the Kenyon Invite in Gambier, Ohio, which runs through Saturday. The tournament will be the team's last before winter break and will feature a format that is similar in style to both the Big 12 and NCAA
Following the holidays, the team plans to travel to San Luis Potosi, Mexico for its annual winter training, which will last from Jan. 3 until Jan. 11.
Championships.
The spring session begins Jan. 13 when the team will travel to Nebraska.
Kansan sportswriter Daniel C. Weixeldorfer can be contacted at dwelxeldorfer@kansan.com.
---- Edited by Derek Korte
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