DENVER The No. 14 University of Denver women’s soccer team took down North Dakota State 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at CIBER Field to remain undefeated in conference play. The Pioneers finished the regular season with a 16-1-1 record and 7-0-0 in conference play. Denver clinched the regular season title in its inaugural season in The Summit League.

“Fantastic start, we came out of the gates very focused. It’s difficult when you’re talking about the seniors. It gets very sentimental and emotional out there. For that I think we got off to a great start 2-0 in just a few minutes then we kind of took out foot off the gas pedal. It got very slow and we gave up a break away and let them back in the game. They deserved that goal; they made us pay for some mistakes,” head coach Jeff Hooker said. “It was disappointing not to get a goal in the second half. I don’t think it was lack of effort, just execution things at the end. In the end, I was always told to celebrate the wins. You celebrate some of them a little bit more than others.”

Less than six minutes into the game, senior Nicholette DiGiacomo (Golden, Colo.) headed the ball into the net off of a corner kick from senior Shannen Johnson (Golden, Colo.). This is DiGiacomo’s fifth consecutive game with a goal and the second consecutive game she has tallied three points. DiGiacomo finished the game with 2-of-4 shots on goal.

Less than three minutes later the Pioneers increased their lead to 2-0, when junior Anna Willis (Centennial, Colo.) scored a header goal off a cross from DiGiacomo. DiGiacomo beat the defender on the end line and crossed the ball to the six-yard box where Willis headed the ball passed the North Dakota keeper.

The Bison closed the gap to 2-1 with 15 minutes left to play in the first half. Anisha Kinnarath snuck one passed freshman goalkeeper Cassidy Rey (Arcadia, Calif.) on a breakaway. Rey’s shutout streak ended at 610 minutes. Rey finished the game with one save. Senior Amelia Davis (Palisade, Colo.) played 45 minutes for the Pioneers without having to face a shot.

The second half remained scoreless despite Denver out shooting North Dakota 11-1 in the half. Senior Kristen Hamilton (Littleton, Colo.) and junior Sam Harder (Centennial, Colo.) contributed three shots each for the Pioneers. Junior Nikki Pappalardo (San Diego, Calif.) and Johnson each added two shots. Denver outshot North Dakota State 18-3.

The Pioneers honored eight seniors in their final regular season game at CIBER Field. This group of student-athletes have led Denver to a 66-11-6 overall record and 37-1-2 in conference play; making them the fourth winningest senior class in the nation with a .831 win percentage.

“If you look at (the seniors) in and out of the classroom, not too many people know we were in the top 10% for GPA’s in the country and I think number four senior class with wins overall. To be able to balance that and to have them be great people and great families is outstanding. I’ve said it before, they were really concerned about if they were going to be able to be good leaders, but they’ve shown that they don’t have a problem with that. They embraced it and I thought they’ve done a fantastic job. They love to play and love to compete and you can’t beat that.”

The Pioneers will travel to Fort Wayne, Ind., for The Summit League conference tournament on Friday, Nov. 8.

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