Kansas soccer blanked

By Jason Elmquist     Sep 10, 2007

John Henry
KU freshman Erin Ellefson, left, goes up for a header against SMU senior Krystal Bailey. SMU beat the Jayhawks, 2-0, Sunday at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

Kansas University’s soccer squad suffered its third shutout in the first four games of the season with a 2-0 loss to Southern Methodist on Sunday at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

Kansas (0-3-1) is off to its worst start in program history and has been outscored 8-1 in the process.

“We need some players to take a little bit more responsibility,” KU coach Mark Francis said. “We’re kind of waiting for somebody else to get it done right now. We need somebody to step up and kind of lead the way so other people can kind of follow them, and that hasn’t happened yet.”

KU had plenty of chances to tie the game after SMU scored in the 28th minute.

In the 55th minute, senior Emily Strinden had two opportunities off a corner kick from senior Nicole Cauzillo, but both attempts were knocked away by SMU goalkeeper Ashley Gunter.

John Henry
KU freshman Erin Ellefson, left, goes up for a header against SMU senior Krystal Bailey. SMU beat the Jayhawks, 2-0, Sunday at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

“I thought Emily played well today,” Francis said. “Emily’s a captain, and I basically challenged all the upperclassmen and said, ‘You guys need to be the ones that are going to lead us and show us where we need to be going.'”

Gunter had eight saves against Kansas, which had a 16-7 shot advantage over Southern Methodist.

Sophomore Monica Dolinsky led the team with six shots, three of which were on goal. Her closest opportunity was a free kick that hit the crossbar in the 40th minute.

“I think we need to work on our mentality in and around the box,” Dolinsky said. “It’s frustrating, but it’s not. It means we’re creating a lot of chances. Having six shots, just by myself, shows us that we’re doing something right.”

SMU didn’t pick up its second goal until the 89th minute, when Colleen Quinn misplayed a ball kicked back to her by a defender.

John Henry
Kansas' Jessica Bush, right, greets Colleen Quinn with a leaping hug as senior Afton Sauer watches during pregame introductions. Despite the pregame jocularity, the Jayhawks fell, 2-0, to SMU on Sunday at Jayhawk Soccer Complex.

The physical nature of the game earned each team two yellow cards. Junior Missy Geha along with Dolinsky were the Kansas recipients of the caution cards.

“I’m not sure it was any more physical than any other game we’ve had,” Francis said. “But they were pretty physical.”

Things won’t get any easier for the Jayhawks, as they travel to play No. 1-ranked Portland, which is coming off a loss to Purdue, and Washington at the Portland Tournament this weekend.

“There’s no pressure. Nobody expects us to beat them (Portland) so maybe that will help us,” Francis said. “Maybe we show up and play them well and that catapults us the rest of the season. But I think we need to regroup, train well next week and be sharp and be ready to show up on Friday to play Portland.

“It’s just an opportunity for our guys to play against an opponent that has that high a caliber and kind of see what it’s all about. I think it’ll be a great learning experience for all of our players.”

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