Box Score DENVER Sophomore goalkeeper Joe Willis (St. Louis, Mo.) tallied seven saves and senior forward Kyle Christensen (Layton, Utah) scored the game-winning goal, as the University of Denver men’s soccer team defeated UNLV 1-0 at Pioneer Field on Sunday afternoon.
Christensen gave Denver (4-5-0, 2-0-0 MPSF) the 1-0 lead in the 36th minute. Senior midfielder Joey Mathot (Port Moody, B.C.) carried the ball to the right corner and centered a pass to freshman midfielder Zach Paul (Longmont, Colo.). Paul then flicked a pass back to Christensen, who buried it from seven yards out.
“I’m happy about the win. UNLV is a very good team, and I think we got a little lucky today,” head coach Bobby Muuss said. “However, I think we got lucky because of the hard work we’ve put in and the way we’ve played over the last couple of weeks.”
Junior midfielder Collin Audley (Fort Collins, Colo.) nearly put the Pioneers on the board with a free kick in the 14th minute. Audley ripped the direct kick just over the crossbar. Christensen netted his first goal of the season for DU 21:37 later.
The Pioneers took the 1-0 lead into halftime, but the Rebels had a 9-7 shot advantage in the first half.
UNLV (5-3-1, 0-2-0 MPSF) had a chance to tie the game in the 74th minute with a Nicholas Paterson free kick from the top of the box. Paterson fired the ball at the Pioneer wall, and senior midfielder Luke Jackson (Aurora, Colo.) deflected it away.
Freshman forward Sam Garza (Highland Village, Texas) tried for an insurance goal when he blasted a shot from about 20 yards out with 11:45 to play, but it flew wide of the net.
Paul also had an opportunity to extend the Pioneer lead. He fired a shot with 2:45 remaining, but UNLV keeper Hawk Mummey made the save.
DU finished with 15 shots, while UNLV tallied 20. Mummey made five saves for the Rebels. Meanwhile, Willis moved to 3-2-0 on the season with his second straight shutout for Denver.
The Pioneers begin a three-game road stretch next Saturday with a 7 p.m. game at Air Force.
