Box Score SAN JOSE, Calif. - The University of Denver men's soccer team suffered a 3-0 defeat to San Jose State on Sunday afternoon.
"We put ourselves in a tough position today with the loss," head coach Bobby Muuss said. "We need to move forward and get ourselves into the MPSF Tournament and make some noise. I still believe this is a good team. We need to find a way to win games."
The loss dropped Denver (4-8-3, 2-4-1 MPSF) into position for the sixth and final seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, one point ahead of UNLV. Six of the eight MPSF teams earn a spot in the MPSF Tournament at CIBER Field on Nov. 10-13.
DU and San Jose State (7-5-3, 4-3-0 MPSF) both had 15 shots and four corner kicks, but the Pioneers could not get their shots past Spartans goalkeeper Jonathan Lester, who made seven saves in the contest.
The game was scoreless through the first 68 minutes before SJSU's Steve Sanchez took a through ball from Diego Ochoa and buried a shot to inside the far post.
The Spartans extended their lead in the 72nd minute, when Ochoa scored on a penalty kick, and SJSU sealed the win when Sanchez assisted a goal by Nick Cashmere in the 76th minute.
The Pioneers return home for their final two regular season home games at CIBER Field next weekend. Denver will host Cal State Bakersfield on Friday at 7 p.m. MT, and Seattle on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT. Both games will be available on Pioneer Vision.
Individual game tickets during the 2011 season are $8 for a reserved seatback and $5 for general admission, and may be purchased by phone at 303-871-2336, online at DenverPioneers.com or in person at the Ritchie Center Box Office. DU students are free with a Pioneer Card.
