Box Score DENVER -- The University of Denver women's soccer player Nicholette DiGiacomo (Golden, Colo.) scored on a penalty kick, but the Pioneers fell 2-1 to the No. 22 Auburn Tigers in the Denver Invitational on Sunday morning. The Pioneers (6-2-0) finished the Denver Invitational 1-1-0.
"The firsts half, they were a little better than we were," said coach Jeff Hooker. "The goals we gave up were things we've been working on. The ball got cleared, and we pushed up and nobody took a look over their back shoulder, and they had three players out there. The shot was going wide and got deflected and went in."
Auburn (6-1-1) got the scoring started early as junior midfielder Ana Cate netted her fourth goal of the season when she deflected a shot inside the goal box from junior Mary Coffed in the opening three minutes of play.
The Tigers added a second goal from senior Heather Havron on a free kick that bounced just over Pioneer keeper Lara Campbell's (Anchorage, Alaska) head and slipped just under the cross bar with five minutes left in the first half.
In a half which featured four yellow cards (three Auburn, one Denver), the Pioneers managed to get nine shots, four of which made their way on net.
As the half came to a close, Denver was awarded a penalty kick in the goal box, but a shot from senior Bria Beardsley (Mission Viejo, Calif.) was saved by Auburn keeper Chandler Hillen.
Denver was awarded another penalty kick in the 48th minute after a foul in the box, and DiGiacomo buried it.
Denver held a 17-12 shot advantage in the match, and a 4-2 edge in corners.
The Denver Invitational concludes when Colorado takes on Cal State Bakersfield this afternoon following the DU men's game against College of Charleston.
The Pioneer women next open Sun Belt Conference play next weekend at CIBER Field. DU will host defending SBC Tournament champion Middle Tennessee on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. MT and Western Kentucky on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. MT.
