KU soccer set to face South Carolina with trip to Elite Eight up for grabs

By Matt Tait     Nov 24, 2019

Mike Gunnoe
Kansas senior Katie McClure controls the ball in the open field during the Jayhawks' 3-0 victory over Xavier on Friday, Nov. 22, 2019 in Columbia, S.C. McClure scored all three KU goals.

A couple of hours before today’s 1 p.m. Sweet 16 matchup with fifth-ranked and second-seeded South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., the third-seeded Kansas soccer team will put its faith in the shuffling skills of junior defender Isabella Cavalcante.

Cavalcante, who hails from Glenbard West High in Glen Ellyn, Ill., has tallied one goal and three assists on 17 shots so far this season.

But almost as important as her steady play and physical presence on the back line for the KU defense, along with any assistance she provides the Kansas offense, is the role she plays in getting the Jayhawks ready before they take the field.

“Izzy’s our DJ for sure,” senior leading scorer Katie McClure said after her team’s 3-0 win over Xavier in Round 2 on Friday. “It’s random, but we let her play her music and we just vibe to it.”

So far this postseason, Cavalcante’s pregame playlists have helped inspire the Jayhawks to some pretty significant moments.

After winning three games a couple of weeks ago to capture the first Big 12 Tournament title in school history, Kansas (17-4-3) picked up a 1-0 win over Iowa at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament and reached its second ever Sweet 16 with a 3-0 rout of Xavier on Friday.

Led by the valuable experience, drive and talent of McClure, a strong defense, the goaltending of Sarah Peters and the confidence of the rest of KU’s upperclassmen, the Jayhawks have their sights set on continuing their run into new territory beginning today.

“I know we aren’t looking too much into it,” McClure said. “But I know it’s in the back of all of our girls’ minds that we can build a legacy here starting with the round of 16.”

To do so, the Jayhawks will have to knock off a South Carolina squad that has lost just once all season. While KU is currently riding an 11-game unbeaten streak — a new program record for consecutive games without a loss — South Carolina has not lost since Sept. 15 (1-0 to Clemson) and has the advantage of playing in front of its home crowd.

The South Carolina defense has posted 16 shutouts this season, five more than the Kansas defense.

KU’s 12 shutouts are the second most by a KU team in program history and have come in large part because of strong defensive play in the past 11 matches. KU has given up just five goals during that stretch and is currently riding a streak of 378 minutes without giving up a goal.

“It’s amazing,” Peters said after recording her 11th shutout of the season. “I’m only a sophomore so there’s still a lot ahead of me, but I am so happy for these seniors and everyone else on the team. We have put in a lot work to be here, and we are really proud of everybody.”

KU coach Mark Francis echoed Peters’ comments and said that simply having another opportunity to game-plan, prepare and compete with this group was every bit as exciting as reaching the Sweet 16.

“I am just glad that we get to play another game because this group is such a fun group to coach,” Francis said. “I just want to keep playing as long as we can. This has been a great group to work with, and this has been a phenomenal senior class. There are seven of them (and they have) really kind of changed our program, the culture. They have been a big part of that.”

The seven seniors suiting up for Kansas today are McClure, defenders Madison Meador, Addisyn Merrick and Elise Reina, forwards Eva Elíasdóttir and Mandi Duggan and midfielder Sophie Maierhofer.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.