Aug. 31, 2016 PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE • Following its first win of the season against SIUE, the Pioneers dropped a 1-0 result to Montana on Sunday at CIBER Field.
• Denver heads to Arizona for its first out-of-state trip of the season to take on Pac-12 programs Arizona (9/2-8p.m.MT) and Arizona State (9/4-8p.m.MT) this weekend.
• The Crimson and Gold will return home next week for a pair of matches against Northern Colorado and Hawai'i. Sunday's match with Hawai'i is the first game of a double header with the men's program, who takes on Bryant, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. MT.
HEAD COACH Jeff Hooker • Denver's
Jeff Hooker is in his 25th season in charge of the Denver women's program. Hooker will coach his 500th women's match at DU on October 14th at North Dakota State.
• Hooker coached both the men's and the women's programs during the 1996 and 1997 seasons, making this officially his 27th season as a head coach at DU.
• DU's head man enters this weekend with a 320-129-41 women's record, and a career record of 340-141-45.
• The nine-time conference coach of the year will look for his 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016.
• In league play in his career, Hooker is 191-32-12, including 186-28-12 with the women's program.
• Among active head coaches, Hooker entered the 2016 season as the 22nd winningest head coach by percentage (.699) and the 15th winningest coach by victories (319).
• In the overall NCAA record books heading into this season, Hooker is the 35th winningest head coach by victories (319).
CIBER FIELD • CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium opened in 2009.
• The 2,000 seat stadium hosts both the men's and women's soccer programs, and sits above the 10,000 square-foot Pat Bowlen Strength and Conditioning Complex.
• The stadium has hosted the 2009 MPSF Men's Soccer Tournament, 2014 Summit League Men's and Women's Championships and 2015 Summit League Men's Championship.
• CIBER Field has also hosted the 2012 NCAA Women's Soccer First Round and 2015 NCAA Men's Soccer Second Round.
• Denver's women's program is 50-12-3 since CIBER Field opened.
OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN • The Pioneers are captained by redshirt senior
Francesca Garzelloni, who enters this match with the program on 61 CAPS, starting 58 of the matches.
• As a freshman in 2012, Garzelloni started the side's first four matches before missing the rest of the season with an injury (foot).
• Garzelloni leads the 2016 roster in career goals with 10 to go along with six assists for a team-leading 26 points.
• The do-it-all midfielder is a two-time First Team All-Summit League selection, and a two-time Summit League All-Tournament team pick.
REAL COLORADO CONNECTION • The Pioneers 2016 roster has 18 players from 13 different club teams.
• Real Colorado leads the way in numbers with four, one from each class.
• Freshman
Brittany Wilson sophomore
Hannah Bricker, junior
Riley Welch, redshirt senior
Francesca Garzelloni all played for the local club team.
• Denver also has a pair of players from Black Diamond Soccer Club (Utah) and the Colorado Storm.
PIONEERS LOOK TO FOUR SENIORS • Redshirt seniors
Karina Fredette and
Francesca Garzelloni and true seniors
Lilly McSwain and
Cassidy Rey look to turn the ship around in their final year of eligibility... Denver's senior class has combined for 201 CAPS and 140 starts.
• Fredette netted three goals in her only previous season with the Pioneers...The Wisconsin Green Bay has 46 NCAA CAPS heading into her final campaign...Fredette was named to the Summit League Second Team in 2015.
• McSwain has 46 CAPS, including nine starts in 2015. In 2014, McSwain tallied two assists in 2014.
• Rey has made 48 CAPS, starting 44 of those matches...Rey has kept a 1.27 goals against average in her career, including a 0.52 GAA in 2013 that earned her Summit League Goalkeeper of the Year.
• Denver has tallied a 33-25-4 record since the beginning of the 2013 campaign.
• The Pioneers 2014 senior class finished 61-18-7, the 13th-best output in the nation.
THE TWO Cs
• 12 of Denver's 18 players are from either Colorado or California, including eight from the state of Colorado.
• Denver's other six players reside from Utah (3), New Mexico, Wisconsin and Quebec.
DENVER'S JUNIOR CLASS READY FOR UPPERCLASSMAN ROLE •
Makenzie Bothner,
Jessie Dancy,
Kendall Mulvaney,
Angelica Pacheco and
Riley Welch make up Denver's five-player junior class.
• The class has combined for 130 CAPS and 62 starts in their first two years with the program.
• Bothner has started in Denver's defense in 38 of her 41 CAPS...The Park City, Utah, native has a goal and three assists in her career, including a game-winner against Iowa State in 2014...Bothner is second among returning field players with 3700 minutes played.
• Dancy has seen 1369 minutes for Hooker's side, making 39 appearances and eight starts at forward.
• Mulvaney has battled injuries through her first two years and has not made an appearance.
• Pachecho had earned 27 CAPS, and scored a goal in her 13 appearances in 2014.
• Welch broke through the starting XI in 2015, making 13 starts in 23 appearances...The Littleton, Colo., native scored two goals and tallied an assist in 1100 minutes of action in her first two seasons.
SOPHOMORES SET FOR KEY ROLE IN 2016 •
Cristiana Behnken,
Hannah Bricker,
Courtney Coffey,
Mary DeWalt and
Leah Swander combined for 87 CAPS and 56 starts in their freshmen seasons, with all five earning places in Hooker's Starting XI throughout the season.
• Behnken, Coffey and DeWalt played in all 17 matches in their rookie seasons.
• Behnken led the 2015 freshmen in starts with 16 and earned a spot on the 2015 Summit League All-Freshmen Team.
• Bricker, who joined the Pioneers for their 2015 spring season, was a four-year member of the Colorado Olympic Development Program. Bricker made six starts in 2015 and saw 714 minutes in 13 CAPS.
• Coffey, another Colorado native, led her high school team in scoring in 2012 (also led in assists) and 2014, finishing as an all-conference selection both seasons. Coffey made 11 starts for Hooker's side, tallying an assist in 799 minutes.
• DeWalt, a four-sport high school athlete was named to her All-Area team, and won the Golden Boot award and earned first-team all-conference honors. DeWalt also had a single assist in 893 minutes for the Pioneers in 2015, making 10 starts in her freshman season.
• Swander, a Grand Junction product, spent two seasons with the U.S. Youth Academy, and scored the most goals of any 5A freshman in Colorado in 2012. Swander led the team with 29 shots and made eight starts a year ago.
PIONEERS ADD FOUR FRESHMEN TO 2016 ROSTER • A pair of Colorado products and California recruits make-up
Jeff Hooker's 2016 freshmen class.
• Goalkeeper
Brittany Wilson, a Littleton native, played her club soccer for Real Colorado and also made appearances with the United State Women's Youth National Team.
• Wilson earned three call-ups with the National Team; two with the U-19s and an August, 2015 call-up with the U-20s.
•
Heather Turcios has earned a call-up with the U-20 El Salvador Women's National Team. Turcios scored six goals and tallied six assists in 2015 at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy.
•
Cheyenne Shorts is Denver's other Colorado freshmen in 2016, a three-year center back for the Colorado Olympic Development program and a four-year starter at Denver East.
• Central midfielder and Real So Cal product
Hannah Adler surpassed the 100 point mark in her high school career last season, leading Oak Park High School to over 60 wins in her career.
• Adler was a 2015 California All-Star selection, two-time all-conference selection and appeared in the IMG Academy 150 player pool.
• All four freshmen have started Denver's first three matches in 2016.
SIXTH ANNUAL COLORADO CUP • The tournament started with just four teams for three years between 2011-13.
• When Colorado State's women's program started ahead of the 2014 season, Air Force and CSU joined the tournament.
• The tournament was created by former Colorado coach and current Colorado State head coach Bill Hempen.
• Denver is 9-8 against Colorado teams since the tournament started in 2011.
• The Pioneers will play Northern Colorado on Sept. 8, but the match will not count towards the Colorado Cup.
• Denver won the 2013 Colorado Cup, and CU has won the other four...Had the Denver-Colorado match counted towards the Colorado Cup during the first three years, Denver would have won both the 2011 and 2012 Colorado Cups.
