Hockey, Men's Soccer, Volleyball, Women's Soccer

Choppy Week Ends with Pios Going 4-3-1

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We told you about North Dakota’s rough series sweep against Denver hockey (4-4, 0-2) in Grand Forks. The Pioneers return home this week to face Western Michigan in an important home NCHC series for Denver to hopefully regain confidence, especially on the offensive end which has sputtered to a bad 1 goal per game in their past three games.

In the Summit League conference semifinals Thursday afternoon, #1 seed DU Women’s soccer (13-6-2, 8-0-1) slipped by South Dakota at Pioneer Field in extra time. The Pioneers took the match on penalty kicks (4-2). Denver advanced to face the #2 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the Summit League Championship Finals Saturday afternoon. Denver struck first with a goal in the first minute of play by Sydney Sharp but unfortunately, the visitors countered with two goals in the first half to take the lead at halftime. Another two consecutive goals in the second half by the Jackrabbits finished off the Pioneers who did not score again until the 84th minute on a goal by Devin McSwain. Barring something odd with the NCAA Tournament selection committee, the 4-2 loss concludes the season for Denver women’s soccer.

In the final match of regular season play, Denver men’s soccer (9-3-3, 4-1-1) needed a win or tie at Kansas City Saturday night to wrap up the conference regular-season title. A Kengo Ohira goal early in the second half (47:10) gave Denver all the scoring they needed in the 1-1 final. With the win, the Pioneers earned the Summit League top seed against these same #4 seed Kangaroos Thursday at Macomb, Illinois at 10:00 am MT. Denver has only scored three goals in their last four matches so finding their scoring touch in Macomb is critical if DU hopes to advance to the NCAA tournament.

Denver volleyball (21-3) rebounded from a disappointing home loss last weekend to Omaha by defeating Oral Roberts (3-0) on the road Monday night and swept North Dakota (3-0) and North Dakota State (3-0) at Hamilton Gym this weekend. That sets up a huge showdown Thursday at South Dakota where a win by the Pioneers will distance themselves from the Coyotes in the standings and keep pace with first-place Omaha in the Summit League standings.

DU men’s basketball begins play Tuesday night at 7:00 pm against Regis at Hamilton Gym. Look for our season preview Tuesday.

One thought on “Choppy Week Ends with Pios Going 4-3-1”

  1. Women’s Soccer was a disappointment this year – loaded with good talent but underperforming, and the fact that they still had a home championship game for an NCAA bid and blew it against an SDSU team DU had outshot 18-1 six days ago is something those DU seniors will take to their graves…

    I am of the opinion that Denver should never lose a Summit League soccer game, men or women. The academics, location and recruiting profile of our school in women’s soccer (Colorado/California, etc.), relative to other Summit schools should be a huge advantage in that sport. Same thing in swimming, tennis and golf…

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