PALO ALTO, Calif. The No. 29 University of Denver women’s soccer team’s season ended with a 2-1 loss to Kansas in the First Round of the NCAA National Tournament at Stanford University’s Laird Q. Cagan Stadium on Friday evening.

 

The three-time defending Sun Belt Tournament champions, Denver (19-3-2) was led by redshirt junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Snyder (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), who tallied six saves, and senior forward Taryn Hemmings (Greeley, Colo.), who scored the team’s lone goal and fired seven shots.

 

“We are extremely proud of the entire team, not only for their effort in this game, but for the work they put in all season,” Sun Belt Co-Coach of the Year Jeff Hooker said. “We fought hard for 90 minutes tonight. It was unfortunate we were unable to score a goal in the first half, but the team played their hearts out.”

 

Kansas (13-7-2) scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute. Katie Williams headed in her third goal of the season off a corner kick by Monica Dolinsky.

 

The Jayhawks took a 2-0 lead into the halftime intermission with a goal by Shannon McCabe in the 45th minute. Missy Geha sent a pass through to McCabe, who finished with a low shot to the left side of Snyder.

 

DU cut the deficit to one in the 49th minute. The referees carded Kansas’s Katie Williams, resulting in a Pioneer free kick from about 35 yards out on the right side of the field. Hemmings then headed in the kick by senior defender Jessi Keller (Arvada, Colo.).

 

The second half saw the Pioneers outshoot the Jayhawks 6-5 after being outshot 14-7 in the opening stanza. Kansas held a 19-13 advantage in shots overall, and goalkeeper Julie Hanley made fours saves for the Jayhawks.

 

The Pioneers headed to Stanford looking for their second all-time First Round NCAA Tournament victory. Last season, DU fell to then-No. 2 Portland 5-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

 

Denver concludes one of its best seasons in program history. The Pioneers tied the program record for wins in a season (19) en route to claiming their fourth Sun Belt Conference regular season title. DU also earned its sixth overall Sun Belt Tournament crown and made its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance.

 

Six Pioneers earned All-SBC honors, led by Hemmings’ Player of the Year award. Junior midfielder Lizzy Carlson (Honolulu, Hawaii) joined Hemmings and Keller on the All-SBC First Team, while senior defender Carrie Blankenbuhler (Littleton, Colo.), freshman midfielder Bria Beardsley (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Snyder earned All-SBC Second Team honors.

 

Hemmings ends her career as the Denver’s second all-time career scoring leader. She led Denver with 17 goals and six assists for 40 points this season, moving her career total to 112 points (42 g, 28 a). The forward also tied Kathy Conklin’s (1989-92) record for career goals (42) with her tally against the Jayhawks and ranks third in career assists (28).

 

With an 18-3-2 mark this season, Snyder moved into fifth place in career goalkeeper wins at 31-8-6 overall. Her 0.59 career goals against average is the second best in program history, while she ranks third with a .756 career win percentage.

 

Hemmings and Snyder also made their marks in DU’s single-season records this year. Hemmings tied Jenni Harris’s (2003) single-season record with 17 goals along with Harris’ third-ranked mark of 40 points in a season, also set in 2003. Snyder’s .865 saves percentage ranks third and her .826 win percentage is the program’s fourth best season mark.

 

In NCAA Tournament action, Kansas will face the winner of Friday night’s game between Stanford and UC Santa Barbara in the Second Round on Sunday at noon MT.

 

 

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