Oct. 20, 2002
Box Score
LOUISIANA, LA. - Senior Kristin Warren (Littleton, Colo.) and sophomore Diana Brunkhardt (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) recorded goals three minutes apart in the second half to lift the 18th ranked University of Denver women's soccer team to a 2-0 Sun Belt Conference win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday afternoon at Cajun Field. The win, Denver's 10th straight, guarantees the Pioneers at least a share of the regular season title as the lone unbeaten team in the SBC (7-0) with one conference match remaining. Denver improves to 12-1-2 overall and extends its SBC regular season unbeaten streak to 14 games. Louisiana-Lafayette drops its second game of the weekend and falls to 4-7-3, 1-3-1 in league play.
Denver, unable to jump start the offense in the opening half, struggled to move the ball around on the small field and entered the halftime break scoreless for just the third time this season. The Pioneers made some adjustments during the intermission and stormed out of the break with an energized attack. Warren broke the scoreless tie in the 66th minute with her seventh tally of the season and celebrated Brunkhardt's second marker of the year minutes later. Junior defender Jamie Norwood (Littleton, Colo.) assisted on Warren's goal with a corner kick to record her team-leading 12th helper of the year. Brunkhardt sealed the victory with an unassisted tally after collecting a loose rebound in front of the net and two-touching the ball around ULL keeper Liza Preseault before tapping it into the lower left corner of the net.
The Pioneers continued to pressure the Ragin Cajun defenders late in the game and created numerous chances in the final third but were unable to convert. Senior keeper Erica Izard (Fort Collins, Colo.) recorded two saves on the afternoon to earn her career-best 10th straight and school-record 47th career win. Izard also extends her lead in the Denver record books with her 38th career shutout and ninth of the season.
"This was a really hard-fought win for us today," said head coach Jeff Hooker. "They (Louisiana- Lafayette) were very aggressive on defense and gave us trouble in the first half, but we were able to make some adjustments at halftime to overcome their pressure. We failed to put the game away with some late chances, but this is still a great conference win on the road and I know the team is happy to return home with a "W" on the record books."
The Pioneers will return to the comfy confines of Pioneer Field for the final two games of the regular season. Denver will host Florida International for the Sun Belt Conference finale on Friday afternoon (Oct. 25) at 3 p.m. and conclude the season with a non-conference match against Minnesota on Saturday (Nov. 2) at 1 p.m.
