Pioneer Field hosted a pair of matches Thursday night. DU women’s soccer (1-0-3) faced Texas A&M in their home opener in the late afternoon and men’s soccer (1-2) took on San Diego in the nightcap. The long, rain-delayed evening resulted in 158 minutes of soccer frustration.

DU women’s soccer used a first-half penalty kick to earn a 1-0 lead over the Texas A&M Aggies. The margin held until the break, but in the second half, storm clouds and lightning approached. At the 68-minute mark, the contest was halted due to lightning and, ultimately, was declared a ‘no contest’ as the match was halted before the 70th minute. Denver was denied the win by two minutes.

In the men’s match, Denver took an early lead on San Diego. Following a corner kick from Holger Olsson, DU’s Will King delivered the game’s first goal at 4:36.

Denver played a tight passing game while the Toreros pushed long balls into the box against DU’s defense. With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, DU’s Erik Collins fouled a San Diego player in the box. The Tereros’ Duus Muller buried the PK into the left side of the cage. Four minutes later, Denver freshman Collins offset the San Diego PK with a goal of his own to restore a one-goal DU margin. DU closed out the first half by allowing a brutal goal by USD as time was running out in the half (44:48) to knot the score at 2-2.

USD broke the match open in the second half. DU’s Trevor Wright was called for a handball in the box, and Mueller buried his second PK, this time finding the right side of the cage to take a 3-2 lead over DU. Denver had 30 minutes to seek the equalizer, but could never solve San Diego keeper Adam Salama in the second half. Denver, with their lofty hopes and expectations for the 2025 season, falls to 1-2 on the season.

The match stats were relatively even on the night as DU led on shots 13(6) – 11(4) and corners (5-0). Ultimately, penalties and a last-minute first-half goal sank Denver (1-2) against a good San Diego side. Next up is SIUE on Sunday, August 31st.

Denver Men’s Goals: