Women’s soccer (5-1) split a pair of matches. The Pios waxed Kansas State at DU soccer stadium, 3-1 Thursday evening. Denver had goals from three different players – Riley Baker, Natalie Beckman (of course) and Sydney Sharp. That makes back-to-back Power-Five wins against Utah (Pac-12 ) and Kansas State (Big 12). On Labor day, the Denver backline had a rough first half against the visiting Mustangs from Southern Methodist University (SMU), allowing three goals in a fifteen-minute span, to trail 3-0. In a strange game dominated by the Pios, Denver outshot the visitors 21-3 and 7-3 shots-on-goal (DU also had an ‘own goal) for the entire contest but Mustangs made all their shots count and won the game, 4-2.
Following a 3-0 thrashing to open the season against Oregon State, DU head coach Jamie Franks called his DU men’s soccer team’s second non-conference game a ‘must win’. DU (1-1-1) responded by putting together a solid win against Portland, propelled by a first-half goal by Aidan O’Toole, for a 1-0 road win.
On Labor day, the Pios traveled to Dallas to face SMU (#9). Denver took a first-half lead, 1-0, on a goal by Destan Norman. However, intense offensive pressure from SMU led to a second-half goal by the Mustangs to end regulation play 1-1. Two periods of overtime left the score even. Unlike the women’s game against SMU in Denver, the DU men were outshot 21-6 by the Mustangs for the match and were fortunate to leave Big D with a big road tie.
Pioneers earn first road result against a @UnitedCoaches top-10 team since defeating No. 3 Clemson in the 2016 @NCAASoccer Quarters.#PioneerTogether pic.twitter.com/9LipwtGXFA
— Denver MSoccer (@DU_MSoccer) September 7, 2021
Denver volleyball (5-1) was stunned by the Northern Colorado Bears 3-0 at the Denver Invitational. The surprise home loss against a balanced UNC side woke up Denver. The Pioneers regained their composure and blasted Northeastern and Mercer over the weekend, 3-0 each. Tina Boe and Lydia Bartalo led the Pioneer sweep. The UNC loss, while unexpected, shows that anything can happen if a team is not mentally ready to play – an important lesson before conference play.
One of the many exciting points I got to announce for @DU_Volleyball during the Denver Invitational. It's great to be back at DU. Looking forward to what this team will accomplish in 2021! https://t.co/wjiEAz2yrw
— Jonathan Horowitz (@jjhorowitz) September 5, 2021
Summit League volleyball teams have made some noise during non-conference play. Omaha nearly defeated Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska and then, downed the University of Georgia 3-1. UMKC stunned the University of Missouri, 3-1 in Columbia, Missouri.
Denver Triathlon had their first meet of the season at the Pleasant Prairie Regional Qualifier. Defending national champion Arizona State had four of the top five finishers. Denver’s top finishers were Averie Faulkner (#14)and Olivia Eberstein (#15).