Aug. 22, 2014

Nevada 1-1 Denver (Loomis 22', Meriwether 55')

RENO, Nev. - Freshman Jocelyn Loomis (Sandy, Utah) found the back of the net in the 22nd minute on her collegiate debut, but the No. 25 University of Denver women's soccer team drew with Nevada 1-1 in the Pioneers' season opener on Friday evening at Moana Field.

"Last year we faced a lot of teams that played a 4-5-1 and packed it in against us in hopes to be able to counter. Nevada was the same way, and they are built well for that," head coach Jeff Hooker said. "We were effective when we switched fields, and that's what happened on the goal. Jocelyn had a great finish."

Loomis is the first Pioneer to score on her debut since 2014 First Team All-American Kristen Hamilton scored in the first match of her collegiate career in a 2-1 loss to Loyola Marymount on Aug. 27, 2010.

The Pioneers' breakthrough came in the 22nd minute when Loomis opened her account, putting her strike just inside the far post from 15 yards out. Junior transfer Stella Norman (Lakewood, Colo.) started the attack, setting Loomis up on the goal. Denver took that 1-0 lead into the locker room.

"Jocelyn played attacking mid in the first half and was effective," Hooker said. "I thought that her and Fran (Garzelloni) were very good at figuring out where to pop in to initiate the attack. In the second half, we moved her up to forward to use her calmness in the final third to our advantage. We just couldn't find the second goal."

Nevada grabbed the equalizer in the 55th minute on an eight-yard tap-in by Angel Meriwether. Chrisalyn Fonte was credited with the assist on the game-tying goal.

"We talked at halftime about needing to be better in handling balls in the air in the middle, and not allowing balls to bounce in the back," Hooker said. "That's exactly what happened on the goal. The ball bounced over our centerbacks heads, and that started the attack for them. From then on, I thought we had a lot of the ball, but our final pass wasn't there, and the quality of our shots wasn't good enough. I thought we settled. It was disappointing to give up the lead, and to not get another goal after we conceded."

Senior centerback Sam Harder (Centennial, Colo.) nearly answered in the 59th minute when she sent a free kick past the Nevada keeper, but off the crossbar.

The Pioneers had all three shots in the first period of extra time and two in the second, forcing four of seven saves from keeper Kelsey Quintos. Denver outshot Nevada 14-7 in the contest.

Freshman forward Lauren Conley (Centennial, Colo.) and Loomis made their collegiate debuts in the starting lineup on Friday, while Norman made her official debut in a Crimson and Gold kit, starting at outside back on Hooker's season-opening team sheet. In all, five Pioneers made their collegiate debut on Friday night.

The Pioneers will return to Denver Saturday before making the in-state trip to Colorado Springs to take on Colorado College Sunday at 2 p.m. MT. DU's match at CC is the Pioneers second of three matches in this year's Colorado Cup. The Pioneers 2014 home opener is September 5, when DU plays host to Detroit at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.

Don't miss out on Pioneer soccer action this fall. Season and individual game tickets are on sale now. Fans interested in purchasing tickets can do so by phone at 303-871-2336, in person at the Richie Center box office or through DenverPioneers.com by clicking here.

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