Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis is used to getting goals from a freshman forward with the last name Smith, so it came as no surprise that he got two such goals in Friday’s 6-0 victory against Oklahoma State.
The shocker was that the goals were from Jessica Smith, not Caroline Smith, the Big 12 Conference’s leading scorer.
The most prolific scorer in Kansas high school history, Jessica Smith scored twice and added an assist to Caroline Smith in the Jayhawks’ record-breaking win at a wet SuperTarget Field.
“Jess has really picked it up a lot,” Francis said of the Wichita Southeast graduate. “She scored two great goals today, and the assist she got was the most impressive thing to me. Caroline was wide open and for (Jessica) to have the maturity this early to be able to recognize that is very good.”
The field was soaked because a sprinkler broke late Thursday night, but that didn’t hinder the Jayhawks as they broke their previous best of five goals in a game. KU (9-2-2, 3-1-1 Big 12) also set records for most points in a game (16) and margin of victory (6).
“Our finishing today was excellent,” Francis said. “This team creates a lot of chances and maybe finishes 30 percent of them, but I thought today there weren’t that many good chances we had that we didn’t put away.”
Oklahoma State (11-2, 2-2) played without four injured starters. Goalkeeper Kat Doud, who leads the conference with a 0.47 goals-against average, also was held out for unspecified reasons.
Rachel Gilfillan scored the Jayhawks’ first goal on a kick from the top of the box in the 15th minute. Oklahoma State defender Jeni Jackson deflected a centering pass with her head then fell to the ground and couldn’t recover in time to block Gilfillan’s shot.
Jessica Smith scored the next two goals, the first of which was a one-timer from the 30 yards out on the right side. Smith played an across-the-field pass from Gabby Quiggle off one bounce and put the ball into the left corner of the goal in the 22nd minute.
“Gabby played me an awesome ball,” Smith said, “and I had a defender who was coming right on my back and I had to take it one-time. I was looking for the shot right away.”
Her second goal came nine minutes later as Smith took a pass from Lacey Woolf in a crowd and put it over OSU goalkeeper Jackie Hinton.
KU proved it had learned from its mistakes of letting leads against UNLV and Arkansas slip away by adding three goals in the second half.
“We’ve talked a lot about finishing teams off when we’re up on them,” Francis said. “Even up 4-0, 5-0, we’re still trying to score. I think that’s an adjustment the kids have done a good job with. Our mentality in those situations is much better.”
The Jayhawks’ first goal of the second period was nearly Jessica Smith’s third. She and Caroline Smith had a two-on-one breakaway with just Hinton in front of them, but Jessica Smith passed to her teammate at the last second instead of trying for the hat trick.
“I thought about it but she had a better angle,” Jessica Smith said. “She was right there in the middle and I knew she was going to put it in if she got it.”
Caroline Smith’s goal was her 11th of the season, breaking another Kansas record. Hilla Rantala set the mark with 10 goals last year.
Senior defender Brianna Valento, who helped hold Oklahoma State to just two shots, scored the final two Kansas goals.
“Coach gave us a good scouting report and told us the key players to look at and make sure they didn’t beat us,” Valento said. “I think we all did a good job. We stayed organized and played well together.”
KU plays host to Oklahoma at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis is used to getting goals from a freshman forward with the last name Smith, so it came as no surprise that he got two such goals in Friday’s 6-0 victory against Oklahoma State.
The shocker was that the goals were from Jessica Smith, not Caroline Smith, the Big 12 Conference’s leading scorer.
The most prolific scorer in Kansas high school history, Jessica Smith scored twice and added an assist to Caroline Smith in the Jayhawks’ record-breaking win at a wet SuperTarget Field.
“Jess has really picked it up a lot,” Francis said of the Wichita Southeast graduate. “She scored two great goals today, and the assist she got was the most impressive thing to me. Caroline was wide open and for (Jessica) to have the maturity this early to be able to recognize that is very good.”
The field was soaked because a sprinkler broke late Thursday night, but that didn’t hinder the Jayhawks as they broke their previous best of five goals in a game. KU (9-2-2, 3-1-1 Big 12) also set records for most points in a game (16) and margin of victory (6).
“Our finishing today was excellent,” Francis said. “This team creates a lot of chances and maybe finishes 30 percent of them, but I thought today there weren’t that many good chances we had that we didn’t put away.”
Oklahoma State (11-2, 2-2) played without four injured starters. Goalkeeper Kat Doud, who leads the conference with a 0.47 goals-against average, also was held out for unspecified reasons.
Rachel Gilfillan scored the Jayhawks’ first goal on a kick from the top of the box in the 15th minute. Oklahoma State defender Jeni Jackson deflected a centering pass with her head then fell to the ground and couldn’t recover in time to block Gilfillan’s shot.
Jessica Smith scored the next two goals, the first of which was a one-timer from the 30 yards out on the right side. Smith played an across-the-field pass from Gabby Quiggle off one bounce and put the ball into the left corner of the goal in the 22nd minute.
“Gabby played me an awesome ball,” Smith said, “and I had a defender who was coming right on my back and I had to take it one-time. I was looking for the shot right away.”
Her second goal came nine minutes later as Smith took a pass from Lacey Woolf in a crowd and put it over OSU goalkeeper Jackie Hinton.
KU proved it had learned from its mistakes of letting leads against UNLV and Arkansas slip away by adding three goals in the second half.
“We’ve talked a lot about finishing teams off when we’re up on them,” Francis said. “Even up 4-0, 5-0, we’re still trying to score. I think that’s an adjustment the kids have done a good job with. Our mentality in those situations is much better.”
The Jayhawks’ first goal of the second period was nearly Jessica Smith’s third. She and Caroline Smith had a two-on-one breakaway with just Hinton in front of them, but Jessica Smith passed to her teammate at the last second instead of trying for the hat trick.
“I thought about it but she had a better angle,” Jessica Smith said. “She was right there in the middle and I knew she was going to put it in if she got it.”
Caroline Smith’s goal was her 11th of the season, breaking another Kansas record. Hilla Rantala set the mark with 10 goals last year.
Senior defender Brianna Valento, who helped hold Oklahoma State to just two shots, scored the final two Kansas goals.
“Coach gave us a good scouting report and told us the key players to look at and make sure they didn’t beat us,” Valento said. “I think we all did a good job. We stayed organized and played well together.”
KU plays host to Oklahoma at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis is used to getting goals from a freshman forward with the last name Smith, so it came as no surprise that he got two such goals in Friday’s 6-0 victory against Oklahoma State.
The shocker was that the goals were from Jessica Smith, not Caroline Smith, the Big 12 Conference’s leading scorer.
The most prolific scorer in Kansas high school history, Jessica Smith scored twice and added an assist to Caroline Smith in the Jayhawks’ record-breaking win at a wet SuperTarget Field.
“Jess has really picked it up a lot,” Francis said of the Wichita Southeast graduate. “She scored two great goals today, and the assist she got was the most impressive thing to me. Caroline was wide open and for (Jessica) to have the maturity this early to be able to recognize that is very good.”
The field was soaked because a sprinkler broke late Thursday night, but that didn’t hinder the Jayhawks as they broke their previous best of five goals in a game. KU (9-2-2, 3-1-1 Big 12) also set records for most points in a game (16) and margin of victory (6).
“Our finishing today was excellent,” Francis said. “This team creates a lot of chances and maybe finishes 30 percent of them, but I thought today there weren’t that many good chances we had that we didn’t put away.”
Oklahoma State (11-2, 2-2) played without four injured starters. Goalkeeper Kat Doud, who leads the conference with a 0.47 goals-against average, also was held out for unspecified reasons.
Rachel Gilfillan scored the Jayhawks’ first goal on a kick from the top of the box in the 15th minute. Oklahoma State defender Jeni Jackson deflected a centering pass with her head then fell to the ground and couldn’t recover in time to block Gilfillan’s shot.
Jessica Smith scored the next two goals, the first of which was a one-timer from the 30 yards out on the right side. Smith played an across-the-field pass from Gabby Quiggle off one bounce and put the ball into the left corner of the goal in the 22nd minute.
“Gabby played me an awesome ball,” Smith said, “and I had a defender who was coming right on my back and I had to take it one-time. I was looking for the shot right away.”
Her second goal came nine minutes later as Smith took a pass from Lacey Woolf in a crowd and put it over OSU goalkeeper Jackie Hinton.
KU proved it had learned from its mistakes of letting leads against UNLV and Arkansas slip away by adding three goals in the second half.
“We’ve talked a lot about finishing teams off when we’re up on them,” Francis said. “Even up 4-0, 5-0, we’re still trying to score. I think that’s an adjustment the kids have done a good job with. Our mentality in those situations is much better.”
The Jayhawks’ first goal of the second period was nearly Jessica Smith’s third. She and Caroline Smith had a two-on-one breakaway with just Hinton in front of them, but Jessica Smith passed to her teammate at the last second instead of trying for the hat trick.
“I thought about it but she had a better angle,” Jessica Smith said. “She was right there in the middle and I knew she was going to put it in if she got it.”
Caroline Smith’s goal was her 11th of the season, breaking another Kansas record. Hilla Rantala set the mark with 10 goals last year.
Senior defender Brianna Valento, who helped hold Oklahoma State to just two shots, scored the final two Kansas goals.
“Coach gave us a good scouting report and told us the key players to look at and make sure they didn’t beat us,” Valento said. “I think we all did a good job. We stayed organized and played well together.”
KU plays host to Oklahoma at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis is used to getting goals from a freshman forward with the last name Smith, so it came as no surprise that he got two such goals in Friday’s 6-0 victory against Oklahoma State.
The shocker was that the goals were from Jessica Smith, not Caroline Smith, the Big 12 Conference’s leading scorer.
The most prolific scorer in Kansas high school history, Jessica Smith scored twice and added an assist to Caroline Smith in the Jayhawks’ record-breaking win at a wet SuperTarget Field.
“Jess has really picked it up a lot,” Francis said of the Wichita Southeast graduate. “She scored two great goals today, and the assist she got was the most impressive thing to me. Caroline was wide open and for (Jessica) to have the maturity this early to be able to recognize that is very good.”
The field was soaked because a sprinkler broke late Thursday night, but that didn’t hinder the Jayhawks as they broke their previous best of five goals in a game. KU (9-2-2, 3-1-1 Big 12) also set records for most points in a game (16) and margin of victory (6).
“Our finishing today was excellent,” Francis said. “This team creates a lot of chances and maybe finishes 30 percent of them, but I thought today there weren’t that many good chances we had that we didn’t put away.”
Oklahoma State (11-2, 2-2) played without four injured starters. Goalkeeper Kat Doud, who leads the conference with a 0.47 goals-against average, also was held out for unspecified reasons.
Rachel Gilfillan scored the Jayhawks’ first goal on a kick from the top of the box in the 15th minute. Oklahoma State defender Jeni Jackson deflected a centering pass with her head then fell to the ground and couldn’t recover in time to block Gilfillan’s shot.
Jessica Smith scored the next two goals, the first of which was a one-timer from the 30 yards out on the right side. Smith played an across-the-field pass from Gabby Quiggle off one bounce and put the ball into the left corner of the goal in the 22nd minute.
“Gabby played me an awesome ball,” Smith said, “and I had a defender who was coming right on my back and I had to take it one-time. I was looking for the shot right away.”
Her second goal came nine minutes later as Smith took a pass from Lacey Woolf in a crowd and put it over OSU goalkeeper Jackie Hinton.
KU proved it had learned from its mistakes of letting leads against UNLV and Arkansas slip away by adding three goals in the second half.
“We’ve talked a lot about finishing teams off when we’re up on them,” Francis said. “Even up 4-0, 5-0, we’re still trying to score. I think that’s an adjustment the kids have done a good job with. Our mentality in those situations is much better.”
The Jayhawks’ first goal of the second period was nearly Jessica Smith’s third. She and Caroline Smith had a two-on-one breakaway with just Hinton in front of them, but Jessica Smith passed to her teammate at the last second instead of trying for the hat trick.
“I thought about it but she had a better angle,” Jessica Smith said. “She was right there in the middle and I knew she was going to put it in if she got it.”
Caroline Smith’s goal was her 11th of the season, breaking another Kansas record. Hilla Rantala set the mark with 10 goals last year.
Senior defender Brianna Valento, who helped hold Oklahoma State to just two shots, scored the final two Kansas goals.
“Coach gave us a good scouting report and told us the key players to look at and make sure they didn’t beat us,” Valento said. “I think we all did a good job. We stayed organized and played well together.”
KU plays host to Oklahoma at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis is used to getting goals from a freshman forward with the last name Smith, so it came as no surprise that he got two such goals in Friday’s 6-0 victory against Oklahoma State.
The shocker was that the goals were from Jessica Smith, not Caroline Smith, the Big 12 Conference’s leading scorer.
The most prolific scorer in Kansas high school history, Jessica Smith scored twice and added an assist to Caroline Smith in the Jayhawks’ record-breaking win at a wet SuperTarget Field.
“Jess has really picked it up a lot,” Francis said of the Wichita Southeast graduate. “She scored two great goals today, and the assist she got was the most impressive thing to me. Caroline was wide open and for (Jessica) to have the maturity this early to be able to recognize that is very good.”
The field was soaked because a sprinkler broke late Thursday night, but that didn’t hinder the Jayhawks as they broke their previous best of five goals in a game. KU (9-2-2, 3-1-1 Big 12) also set records for most points in a game (16) and margin of victory (6).
“Our finishing today was excellent,” Francis said. “This team creates a lot of chances and maybe finishes 30 percent of them, but I thought today there weren’t that many good chances we had that we didn’t put away.”
Oklahoma State (11-2, 2-2) played without four injured starters. Goalkeeper Kat Doud, who leads the conference with a 0.47 goals-against average, also was held out for unspecified reasons.
Rachel Gilfillan scored the Jayhawks’ first goal on a kick from the top of the box in the 15th minute. Oklahoma State defender Jeni Jackson deflected a centering pass with her head then fell to the ground and couldn’t recover in time to block Gilfillan’s shot.
Jessica Smith scored the next two goals, the first of which was a one-timer from the 30 yards out on the right side. Smith played an across-the-field pass from Gabby Quiggle off one bounce and put the ball into the left corner of the goal in the 22nd minute.
“Gabby played me an awesome ball,” Smith said, “and I had a defender who was coming right on my back and I had to take it one-time. I was looking for the shot right away.”
Her second goal came nine minutes later as Smith took a pass from Lacey Woolf in a crowd and put it over OSU goalkeeper Jackie Hinton.
KU proved it had learned from its mistakes of letting leads against UNLV and Arkansas slip away by adding three goals in the second half.
“We’ve talked a lot about finishing teams off when we’re up on them,” Francis said. “Even up 4-0, 5-0, we’re still trying to score. I think that’s an adjustment the kids have done a good job with. Our mentality in those situations is much better.”
The Jayhawks’ first goal of the second period was nearly Jessica Smith’s third. She and Caroline Smith had a two-on-one breakaway with just Hinton in front of them, but Jessica Smith passed to her teammate at the last second instead of trying for the hat trick.
“I thought about it but she had a better angle,” Jessica Smith said. “She was right there in the middle and I knew she was going to put it in if she got it.”
Caroline Smith’s goal was her 11th of the season, breaking another Kansas record. Hilla Rantala set the mark with 10 goals last year.
Senior defender Brianna Valento, who helped hold Oklahoma State to just two shots, scored the final two Kansas goals.
“Coach gave us a good scouting report and told us the key players to look at and make sure they didn’t beat us,” Valento said. “I think we all did a good job. We stayed organized and played well together.”
KU plays host to Oklahoma at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Austin, Texas ? Kansas juniors Carrie Kirkham and Rebecca McFall each had personal-best performances Thursday night, leading the Jayhawks in the Big 12 swimming and diving championships at the Jamail Texas Swim Center.
The Jayhawks are in sixth place with 126.5 points after the first day of the swimming competition and two diving events.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Kirkham finished seventh in an NCAA championships-consideration time of 23.31.
McFall earned the fifth-best score in KU history in the three-meter diving, scoring a career-best 463.75 to place fifth. She already holds the school record in platform diving.
