Jessica Bush saw the frustration and heartbreak on the faces of last year’s seniors after a miserable start derailed their final campaign in crimson and blue.

She saw just how quickly NCAA Soccer Tournament dreams slip through your fingers when seven of the first nine games end in defeat.

Now the senior midfielder finds herself in the same position. One year left, only 19 games remaining and no second chances to fall back on.

“It’s really emotional knowing going into your senior year that this is it,” Bush said. “In four months everything you worked for pretty much your whole life is going to be done, and you don’t want to see what happened last year happen to you.”

Today Bush and fellow seniors Missy Geha, Kristin Graves, Sara Rogers and Stephanie Baugh get their first chance at redemption against the nationally ranked Purdue Boilermakers at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

Kansas returns eight of 11 starters from the team that finished third in the ultra-competitive Big 12 Conference last season despite a disastrous 1-7-1 nonconference record. Nevertheless, this is different squad than the one coach Mark Francis had at his disposal in 2007.

For starters, the Jayhawks have reloaded offensively after being shut down eight times last season and averaging barely better than a goal per contest. Freshman forwards Emily Cressy and Kortney Clifton should step in and start immediately to support junior forward Kim Boyer if Saturday’s 3-0 exhibition win against Drake is any indication.

Cressy’s debut simply couldn’t have gone any better. After redshirting last season, the Ventura, Calif., native scored twice against the Bulldogs in her first game as a Jayhawk. Complementing her predatory instincts in front of goal is Clifton, who finished her high school career as the state of Kansas’ most prolific scorer and figures to see significant time as a true freshman.

“Goal scoring is just a knack,” Francis said. “You either can do it or you can’t. Emily is a goal scorer. That’s why we recruited her. Kortney Clifton is a goal scorer. That’s why we recruited her.

Kansas’ revamped offense should be bolstered even more by the formation change Francis and associate head coach Kelly Miller began tinkering with this spring. The team previously employed Geha as a lone holding midfielder while two attacking midfielders pushed forward into the final third.

Upon Miller’s suggestion, Francis said they began toying with pairing the defensive-minded Geha with Bush to bring more balance and flexibility to the middle of the field.

Against Drake the duo showed off the kind of familiarity and combination play that comes with more than three years together in Lawrence. While providing cover for the defense, Bush’s incisive runs through midfield will give Kansas a dynamic force from midfield that it lacked in 2007.

Geha said sharing defensive responsibilities with Bush allowed them to defend together and pass their way out of trouble along with opening opportunities for both to get forward.

Along with junior midfielder Monica Dolinsky, Francis said this is the deepest midfield he has had in nine years at the helm. UCLA transfer Sarah Salazar could also see time along with returning sophomores Erin Ellefson and Rachel Morris.

“They are really the engines,” he said of what has become a crowded stable of quality players. “I think if those guys are playing well then we’ll play well.”

Meanwhile, Francis shouldn’t have to worry about depth or talent defensively either only a year after being forced to throw freshman Katie Williams into the fire.

Williams responded so well that Soccer Buzz named her to the Central Region All-Freshman Team after starting 18 matches and scoring three goals. Junior Estelle Johnson was a third team all-region selection as well. Junior Jenny Murtaugh, a 2006 All-Big 12 Second Team selection who took a redshirt last year due to injury, also returns to give the Jayhawks depth where they sorely lacked it last season.

Johnson have assumed the role of defensive leader, and said she looked forward to seeing the results of having continuity in the back for a full season with Williams.

“It’s relieving because last year we had to throw Katie in the middle, but I think she’s adjusted well,” she said. “She’s a big part of the team now, and she knows what I want from her and I know what she wants from me.”

Bush knows what she wants too. After arriving in Lawrence on the heels of three NCAA Tournament appearances in four years, the team has failed to make the postseason in each of her three years on Mount Oread.

Today marks the first step towards finally recapturing that success, something that doesn’t escape her attention.

“This is a huge game for us,” Bush said. “I have been waiting for this game for a long time.”

Kansas picked to finish sixth

Big 12 coaches picked the Jayhawks to finish sixth out of 11 teams in 2008. Kansas finished third in 2007. Francis said he didn’t pay attention to preseason rankings, but Johnson said it would serve as motivation.

“I can’t tell you where I think we should be because I haven’t seen all the other teams,” Johnson said. “But judging from last year, I definitely don’t think we should be sixth. I think that is going to be motivation for all of us to go out and knock some girls around.”

Williams suspended

Sophomore defender Katie Williams is ineligible to play today against Purdue after receiving a red card against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament last fall. Williams started 18 games for the Jayhawks last season, scoring three goals.

SALAZAR YET TO PASS FITNESS TEST

Francis said Wednesday that UCLA transfer Sarah Salazar hadn’t passed the team’s fitness test and could be ineligible to play today unless she passed the test at practice Wednesday afternoon or Thursday. Salazar represents a major recruiting coup for Francis. She was the No. 12 ranked recruit in the nation by RISE Magazine in the class of 2007 before spending last year as a member of the Bruins.

Graves status unknown

Senior defender Kristin Graves did not dress for Saturday’s exhibition against Drake, and Francis refused to elaborate on her injury or status for today’s game. Graves started 15 of the final 16 games of 2007.