Oct. 24, 2004

Box Score

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Two-sport star Scott Davidson's (Guilford, Conn.) three points (1g, 1a) were not enough as the University of Denver men's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker to the San Jose State Spartans, 3-2, in double- overtime on Sunday in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action. The loss ends Denver's three-game winning streak and drops the Pioneers to 8-4-1 overall and 5-2-0 in the MPSF. The Spartans improve to 4-9-1, 3-4.

After a scoreless 43 minutes Davidson finally opened up the scoring, giving Denver a 1-0 lead at the break.

The Spartans responded in the second half, scoring more goals than any other Pioneer opponent in 12 previous games. Frank Mata tallied the first off a breakaway down the left side in the 63rd minute.

Sophomore forward Kyle Christensen (Layton, Utah) scored the potential game winner in the 73rd minute, but SJSU struck again just one minute later. Sophomore midfield James Merriman (Nanaimo, B.C.) and Davidson both assisted on Christensen's goal. Johnny Gonzalez notched the equalizer for the Spartans.

After a scoreless final 15 minutes the game went into overtime.

The two teams remained tied until a goal by SJSU's Tim McKinney with 42 seconds remaining in the second overtime set Denver home with only its second conference loss of the year.

Freshman goalkeeper Matt Bredehoft (Fort Collins, Colo.) made nine saves in the effort. The Spartans attempted 25 shots, a Denver opponent high. The Pioneers attempted 15.

The Pioneers return to action Thursday, October 28, when they travel to Albuquerque, N.M. to battle MPSF foe No. 5 New Mexico at 7 p.m. MT. Denver defeated the Lobos, 2-1, earlier this season at Pioneer Field. The game can be followed live with GameTracker on denverpioneers.com.

                          Soccer Game Summary (Final)
                       The Automated ScoreBook For Soccer
          Denver vs San Jose State (Oct 24, 2004 at San Jose, Calif.)

 Denver (8-4-1, 5-2 MPSF) vs. San Jose State (4-9-1, 3-4 MPSF)
 Date: Oct 24, 2004  Attendance: 105
 Weather: Cloudy and cool.
 Goals by period       1  2 OT O2  Tot
 -------------------------------------
 Denver..............  1  1  0  0 -  2
 San Jose State......  0  2  0  1 -  3
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.  43:05 DENVER Davidson, Scott (4) (unassisted) - bounce around in box on save
  2.  63:54 SJSU Mata, Frank (2) (Mackey, Chris) - off of breakaway from left side
  3.  74:17 DENVER Christensen, Kyle (5) (Merriman, James;Davidson, Scott) - directly in front of goal
  4.  75:38 SJSU Gonzalez, Johnny (3) (Mora, Heber) - breakaway from left side
  5. 109:18 SJSU McKinney, Tim (4) (Perego, Aaron;Gonzalez, Johnny) - directly in front of goal from left side
 Shots: Denver 15, San Jose State 25
 Saves: Denver 9 (Bredehoft, Matt 9), San Jose State 5 (Benton, Daniel
 4; TEAM 1)