Jayhawks to take on Missouri again

Senior midfielder Monica Dolinsky steps in on a Missouri player to take the ball away. Kansas won the game 3-2.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

San Antonio, Texas — Calling the last six days wild for the Kansas soccer team would be a major understatement, to say the least.

But all that matters now is that the team has a chance to compete in the Big 12 Tournament tonight against top-seeded Missouri.

“If we get to keep playing, that’s all we can ask for,” senior midfielder Monica Dolinsky said.

Last Friday morning, the Jayhawks’ postseason hopes looked slim. Kansas needed a victory against the top team in the Big 12 Conference, which happened to be Missouri, and help from two other conference games that night for a shot at advancing.

But Friday afternoon, the Jayhawks pulled a 3-2 upset against the Tigers. And Colorado defeated Texas Tech to give Kansas one of the results it needed.

Then things got really nuts.

Baylor tied Oklahoma to put Kansas, Texas Tech, and Baylor in a three-way tie for the last two spots in the conference tournament. Friday night, the Big 12 ruled that Kansas and Baylor would advance to the tournament after a four-step tiebreaker.

Less than 24 hours later, however, the conference changed its decision after Texas Tech disputed the tiebreaker. It ruled that Kansas and Texas Tech would participate in a play-in game to decide the final spot in the tournament. So Kansas jumped on a plane early Sunday morning, flew to San Antonio, then defeated Texas Tech in a dramatic penalty kick shootout to advance to the Big 12 Tournament.

Tonight, Kansas faces none other than Missouri for the second time in less than a week in the tournament’s quarterfinal round.

“Oh yeah, it’s been a little crazy,” coach Mark Francis said when asked if this was one of the strangest weeks he’d seen as a coach.

“But whenever you get dealt a situation, you just have to make the most of it, and I thought the kids did a good job of that last night,” he said.

Last Friday, the Jayhawks edged the Tigers 3-2 in one of the most physical games of the year for the team. But that was in Lawrence against a Missouri team that had already clinched the regular season title and had little to play for besides its record.

Tonight, it’s a true elimination game against Missouri, a team that had its undefeated season spoiled by the Jayhawks.

“Any time you beat a team, obviously they’re going to be extremely motivated the second time around. It’ll definitely be tough,” Francis said.

Tonight’s game is also a repeat of last year’s Big 12 Tournament semifinal, when Missouri knocked off Kansas in another penalty kick shootout. But the Jayhawks can also draw confidence from last year’s tournament, as they pulled an upset over the No. 2 seed Texas A&M in the first round in 2008. Dolinsky said the team is fine with its similar underdog role this year.

“I think we just have to keep proving to ourselves and everyone else that we’re a good team and we could win this tournament,” she said.

Kansas was able to come back from a 1-0 deficit in the first minute to beat Missouri Friday. After seeing what Missouri’s forwards are capable of, Francis said containing its potent offense will be his team’s first priority.

“Defensively, we’ve got to minimize the opportunities that they have,” he said.

Kansas will also need to recover quickly from its taxing double overtime victory Monday. Francis said his team should be fine after nearly two days of laying low in San Antonio. Right now, the team’s focus is relaxing and recuperating, according to Dolinsky. After a three-game unbeaten streak, the team has reason to feel confident.

“We just have to go out and compete like we did the last couple games,” Dolinsky said, “and we’ll be alright.”

— Edited by Tim Burgess

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