Kansas University’s soccer team secured its first Big 12 Conference regular-season championship Friday with a victory over Iowa State. A win today against the Cyclones would be the first step in the Jayhawks’ quest for their first Big 12 tournament title.
“It’s not an ideal situation, playing the same team that you just beat,” KU coach Mark Francis said Tuesday of his top-seeded team’s 11 a.m. showdown today against eighth-seeded ISU at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio.
The Jayhawks split the league’s regular-season title with Texas A&M because both teams were 8-2. Even though KU won the head-to-head matchup, 1-0, there is no tiebreaker.
The No. 7-ranked Jayhawks (16-3 overall, 8-2 Big 12) at least should be comfortable with the scenario in San Antonio.
The last three seasons KU has bowed out of the Big 12 tourney to the same conference opponent it played in its regular-season finale.
Last year Kansas fell to Oklahoma State in the semifinals, 1-0, after beating the Cowboys, 2-0, the weekend before in Lawrence. The two previous seasons Missouri eliminated KU from the tourney — the Jayhawks had tamed the Tigers in 2001 in Lawrence, but Mizzou was victorious in 2002’s regular-season and postseason clashes.
Francis said he was confident this year would be different.
“I don’t think this is the same thing,” he said. “The girls are pretty fired up, and we still have a lot to play for.”
Indeed, this season’s squad could help its own seeding for next week’s NCAA Tournament with a couple of wins this weekend in Texas.
KU finished with a team-record 16 regular-season wins, but whether those wins will help KU to become a host site, Francis said he wasn’t sure.
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“We can’t worry about those kind of things because they are out of our control,” said Francis, who earlier in the week was named the Big 12 coach of the year. “I do think, though, it would help us to have a higher seed, so we’re definitely excited about that opportunity.”
The Jayhawks — who rank second nationally with a goals-against average of 0.31 and have allowed just six goals in 19 games — will have to play without the leadership of senior defender Stacy Leeper, who left Friday’s game because of an undisclosed injury.
Francis said Leeper was “doing pretty well,” and might be available later in the week.
With a win today, Kansas will advance to Friday’s semifinals against the Nebraska-Texas winner. The championship is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.
Francis said even though his team already had topped the number of games it won last year (15) on its way to a third-place Big 12 finish and NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, there was plenty to play for this week.
“Obviously, it’s been a great year, but now it’s a completely new season,” Francis said. “We’ve already put the accolades we’ve achieved in the past and are preparing to reach new goals.”
A poster was placed in the locker of each of the Kansas University men’s basketball players the morning of Oct. 12, 2002, as the Jayhawks dressed for their first official practice of the 2002-03 season.
It was a poster of the New Orleans Superdome — site of the 2003 Final Four and Saturday’s 5:07 p.m. national semifinal game between KU and Marquette.
“It’s a picture of the Superdome, and under it, it says in bold letters, ‘Finish it,'” KU guard Jeff Hawkins said Tuesday.
Finish it, as in, finish the job.
That simple message refers to returning to the Final Four after last year’s national semifinal loss to Maryland — and winning the national championship this time.
On the first day of the 2001-02 season, a picture of Atlanta’s Georgia Dome hung in the KU players’ lockers and stayed there the entire season. The Jayhawks, as if on cue, marched to Atlanta and the Final Four.
“Last year, it was just a picture of the dome (with no words),” Hawkins said. “Everybody’s goal was to basically just to get to the Final Four. We overlooked trying to actually win the title. Everybody was pleased just getting there. This year we definitely want to finish it and win it.”
Looking at the picture of the Superdome daily inspired the Jayhawks through a long season, KU junior Bryant Nash said.
“Every day I come in here and see it, it inspires me,” Nash said, “because last year, the people who were here saw we lost. We know what it feels like to lose. It gives us motivation to go to New Orleans and play our butts off, man.”
Perhaps KU coach Roy Williams should put a picture of the Final Four destination in his players’ lockers every year.
He’s 2-for-2 using the motivational ploy the last two years.
“You can’t help but look at it every day. It’s right there in your locker,” Hawkins said. “I would say if you look at a picture every day, you know that is your goal. You know what you have to do to obtain that goal.
“In my opinion, it’s a very good motivational tool.”
Hawkins, who red-shirted last year, has gone to the Final Four both of his seasons at Kansas — as have sophomores Keith Langford, Aaron Miles, Wayne Simien, Michael Lee. Seniors Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich didn’t reach the elite event in their first two years, but have rallied to conclude with two straight.
“This year, we are more focused on beating Marquette than celebrating just being in the Final Four,” Collison said. “I don’t think it (his career) would be totally complete without winning a championship. If the right way would happen, we’d get it. If we don’t win, it still would be a good career. I’ll still be happy, but unless we win the championship it will not be complete.”
Hinrich feels the same way.
“I have had fun this year … so much fun this year,” Hinrich said. “But I do want a national championship. I’m going to do all I can to help make that happen this weekend.”
Of course, the Jayhawks would like to win it for Williams.
“I don’t think it’s extra motivation. You don’t need a lot of motivation this time of year,” Collison said. “But around here, it’d be huge, being the first team to get one for coach. It would mean a great deal to our guys because he means so much to us.”