Box Score Oct. 2, 2016 IUPUI 1-2 Denver (Dancy 37', Adler 50', Raster 62')| Buy Tickets
INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Denver women's soccer team stayed perfect in Summit League play with a 2-1 win over IUPUI on Sunday afternoon at Michael A. Carroll Stadium.
"Today was a great road victory and a fantastic start to Summit League play this weekend," 25th year head coach Jeff Hooker said. "This important start to our group is a tribute to how hard we worked over the weekend. We absorbed their initial pressure for the first 10 minutes, but once we got the ball on the ground and started knocking it around we felt better about our standing in the match. Both goals were really nice pieces of build-up play and we capitalized with terrific finishes on those opportunities.
Junior Jessie Dancy (Park City, Utah) and freshman Hannah Adler (Oak Park, Calif.) scored the two goals for Denver (5-7-0, 2-0-0 Summit) and freshman Brittany Wilson (Littleton, Colo.) made five saves, one shy of her season high.
After fending off an early push from the home side, the Pioneers had a good bit of possession after the half hour mark and capitalized with the Dancy breakthrough. Junior forward Angelica Pacheco (Taos, N.M.) and redshirt-senior captain Francesca Garzelloni (Parker, Colo.) both got shots off, but had them both blocked. After recycling their runs, Adler and junior outside back Makenzie Bothner (Park City, Utah) connected passes and played in a cross to Dancy, who headed her second career goal from in close to give the Pioneers the lead.
IUPUI (7-5-1, 1-1-0 Summit) had a 7-5 advantage in shots and a 3-1 edge in corners going into the locker room, but the Dancy opener was the difference on the scoreboard at the intermission.
Adler doubled the Pioneers advantage on the other side of the intermission, toepoking a Pacheco pass from 10-yards out to beat Catherine Schmidt on 50 minutes. The freshman's goal is her second of the season, and Pacheco's assist was her second of the season and the second of the junior's career.
The Jaguars pegged one back in the 62nd minute through Catherine Raster's seventh of the season. Raster found the back of the net from 18 yards out after Wilson was pulled away from her line. Hayley Shelton and Krissy Kirkhoff were credited with assists pulling Wilson out of the goal to help IUPUI cut the Denver lead in half.
"Getting that two goal lead was important as we made several mistakes on their goal, giving up a breakaway," Hooker said. "Other than that moment, I'm very happy with how hard we worked out there today. We really earned this win this afternoon."
Adler nearly restored the two-goal lead right away, but her strike from just outside the box rattled the crossbar in the 65thminute.
Up Next:
The Pioneers will return home after the four-match road swing that wrapped up today, opening their Summit League schedule with a visit from South Dakota. Next Sunday's kickoff is set for 12 p.m. MT at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
Tickets:
Single game tickets for the 2016 Denver soccer season are on sale now, and can be purchased, here.
Fans interested in making a donation to the women's soccer program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.
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