Oct. 14, 2001
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Sophomore defender Jamie Norwood (Littleton, Colo.) tallied a career-high five points and senior Molly George (Santa Fe, N.M.) scored two goals as the University of Denver women's soccer team earned its seventh consecutive shutout win by trouncing Sun Belt Conference newcomer Western Kentucky 5-0 on Sunday (October 14) afternoon at the Western Kentucky Soccer Complex. With the win Denver improves to 11-2 on the season, 4-1 in league play. The Hilltoppers suffer their second consecutive loss at home and fall to 11-3 overall, 3-2 in the SBC.
The Hilltoppers dominated the opening nine minutes of the contest and controlled possession of the ball without allowing Denver an opportunity to get past midfield forcing the Pioneers to play back on their heels. Denver recovered from Western Kentucky's offensive assault midway through the half and broke the game open with three unanswered goals.
Denver's first goal of the afternoon was set up by junior Katie Antongiovanni (Bakersfield, Calif.) when she took control of a throw-in in the offensive zone and beat a WKU defender before sending a pass to Norwood who chipped the ball by Hilltopper keeper Amy Uhlman to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead at 22:56.
The battle at midfield turned physical as the half wore on, but the Pioneers were up to the challenge and intensified the pressure. Western Kentucky answered with a series of substitutions following the initial goal in an attempt to combat Denver's onslaught but the strategy proved unsuccessful as the Pioneers struck twice more with goals by juniors Kristin Warren (Littleton, Colo.) and Camile Flenniken (Northglenn, Colo.) in the 30th and 35th minutes, respectively. Denver's defense was superb in the opening frame yielding only one shot in the half.
Western Kentucky, trailing at halftime for only the second time this season, opened the second half with a revived spirit and attacked Denver's defensive unit, but the Pioneers exploited their efforts with two more goals in the half by senior Molly George (Santa Fe, N.M.) in the 58th and 77th minutes. George collected her team-leading ninth and tenth goals of the season to extend Denver's advantage to 5-0.
The Pioneers return to action next weekend for a two-game home stand against Sun Belt Conference opponents South Alabama on Friday (October 19) and Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday (October 21). Kick is slated for 1 p.m. and 11 a.m., respectively. South Alabama won the first-ever meeting against Denver last year 1-0, handing the Pioneers their only home loss of the season. Denver has never faced Louisiana-Lafayette in women's soccer.
