Kansas University soccer coach Mark Francis elicited a few stupefied stares and some finger-pointing Sunday after fulfilling his end of a deal.

KU’s players sheared Francis’ hair after they blanked Missouri, 2-0, and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Apparently, some people thought his new “do” was more of a “don’t,” but Francis didn’t mind the laughs provoked by his freshly shaved scalp.

“It is ugly, isn’t it,” Francis said about his shiny dome. “About a month ago, when it looked like we had a good chance of getting in the tournament, I think Lauren Williams was the one that came up to me and said ‘Coach, if we make it to the Sweet 16, will you shave your head?’

“I thought, ‘Sure, whatever.’ I didn’t know I was going to actually have to do it.”

Kansas won’t have any time for clowning around this week. The No. 16-ranked Jayhawks (18-5-1) will be busy preparing for their next opponent, UCLA.

Game time is 9 p.m. CST Friday at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles. The second-ranked Bruins (18-1-3) advanced to the Sweet 16 by beating San Diego, 2-0, Friday and toppling Pepperdine, 2-0, Sunday. KU and UCLA never have played each other.

UCLA’s only loss was to North Carolina, the nation’s top-ranked team, by a 5-2 score. Since then, the Bruins have won 14 of 15, including a tie with unranked Stanford.

Francis said he never doubted the Jayhawks were talented enough to win two games in the NCAA Tournament. Now he’s hoping they can take it one step farther.

KU soccer players, from left, Jessica Kilpatrick, Maggie Mason and Nikki Alvarez, shave coach Mark Francis' head after the Jayhawks defeated Missouri in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Athletic director Lew Perkins also was in attendance Sunday at Columbia, Mo.

“I knew this was going to be a good team from the beginning,” he said. “Talent-wise, I think the things you’re never too sure about … the intangibles, the heart, how well they’re going to get along together, those kind of things … you really don’t know that until the season’s halfway over.”

Francis found out quickly this team had all the ingredients when it won eight of its first nine games. After a brief midseason sputter, the Jayhawks regrouped and have gone 9-2 in their last 11 games.

“I think a big key this season for us has been those intangible things,” he said. “It was very evident as we went through the year that those things were big parts of our team.”

The chemistry has equated to school records for victories, goals, total shots, shutouts and goals-against average.

More impressive, however, is the drastic change in the program’s postseason record. After having never won a postseason game of any sort in four tries, Kansas picked up its first win in the Big 12 Conference Tournament and its first victories ever in the NCAA Tournament.

That success has raised the bar for the future, said junior defender Stacy Leeper.

“Our goal was to make the tournament,” she said about past seasons. “Now it’s win games and just keep playing.”

Kansas University's Carmel Kaplinger (3) and Kimberly Karfonta exchange high-fives after Kaplinger scored a goal in the second half of KU's 2-0 victory over Missouri. The win Sunday in Columbia, Mo., gave the Jayhawks a berth into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.