It’s that time again. DU men’s soccer, which received six votes in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll and would be ranked #28 if the poll extended beyond 25, opens with two exhibitions against Air Force and Colorado School of Mines this Sunday and next Saturday respectively. Then Denver opens its road-heavy, challenging non-conference slate, which head coach Jamie Franks has made an annual tradition.

The Pioneers begin their season with a ten-day Western swing against Cal, Stanford, Washington, and #10 SMU in late August. Then, it’s off to Omaha to face perennial soccer powerhouse Creighton. Three days later? #21 UCLA in the City of Angels.

Starting mid-September the Pioneers face Yale, #22 Portland, and #23 Seattle at Pioneer Field before opening conference play on October 2nd against Oral Roberts in Tulsa.

In 2019, Franks scheduled a similarly difficult schedule and the team dropped non-conference road tilts to Washington, Seattle, Indiana, Notre Dame, Stanford, and Pitt en route to a disappointing 6-12-3 record. The 2019 team had injuries and lost confidence with those early losses. They did regain their footing in Summit League play and dropped a second-round NCAA tournament tilt 1-0 to Missouri State after winning the Summit League championship.

DU will need solid play from keeper Isaac Nehme to weather the early challenges. The team’s depth is at the midfield with Jason Belloli, Ben Smith, and Sam Bassett. Senior Oje Ofunrein is likely to lead the attack for the Pioneers.

Franks likes a battle-tested team that is ready for conference play and prepared for NCAA Tournament knockout play. No doubt, they will be more than ready for conference play.

Last season DU fell to UMKC on penalties in the Summit League Tournament but advanced as an at-large team to the second round, eventually falling to #6 seed SMU in Dallas, 2-1.