THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
• Denver's 19-match unbeaten run dating back to October 10, 2017 came to an end last week as the Pioneers dropped their first match of the season 3-0 at [10/11] Virginia.
• The Pioneers will enter Tuesday's match after a full week off, as they make another trip to the east coast, this time to battle Maryland. Kick is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT.
• Denver will return home to battle Western Illinois in Summit League play on Saturday with kickoff set for 7 p.m. MT.
HEAD COACH JAMIE FRANKS
• Former DU assistant and Wake Forest alum
Jamie Franks took over the reins, officially inking his name as Denver's 10th head coach, on Aug. 29, 2015.
• Franks is 56-9-10 as a head coach through his first 3 seasons with the Pioneers.
• The Pioneers are 91-26-18 since Franks' arrival as an assistant coach prior to the start of the 2012 season.
• Combined as a college player and coach, Franks is 190-53-35, reaching five College Cups and winning a National Championship with the Deacs (07).
• According to information submitted to the NCAA in 2015, Franks was the youngest DI head coach (29) three seasons ago and was the second youngest in 2016.
GET ON THE BOARD FIRST
• The Pioneers were 11-1-1 in 2014, 14-0-1 in 2015, 18-0-0 in 2016, 10-1-1 in 2017 and are 8-0-1 in 2018 when scoring the first goal.
• Since Franks' arrival in 2012, the Pioneers are 82-3-8 when scoring the first goal.
• Denver lost 2-1 in extra time at Gonzaga on Sept. 30, 2017, Denver's first setback from a winning position since the 2014 campaign (October 6, 2014 - at Bradley).
• DU hasn't lost at home after scoring the first goal since a 2-1 loss to UMKC on Oct. 10, 2009.
• Denver trailed 2-1 against No. 3 Washington after scoring the opening goal, before coming from behind to win the match 3-2 in Denver.
LEAGUE TITLES
• With the Pioneers regular season win over Omaha on Oct. 28, 2017, Denver clinched at least a share of its fifth-straight Summit League regular season title. Since joining the league in 2013, Denver has gone 26-2-4 in the conference regular season, including 17-0-3 in the regular season since Franks took over as head coach.
• The 2017 regular season title was Denver's seventh since 2008 (won the MPSF in both 2008 and 2010).
• Denver is 9-0-1 all-time in the Summit League Tournament, winning the previous four league championships before falling in penalties in 2017 at Omaha.
OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
• Shinyashiki has made 75 appearances in the last 3 seasons for Franks' Pioneers, netting 44 goals and adding 13 assists for 101 career points. Of his 44 goals, 16 have been game-winners, including five game-winning tallies in the Pioneers College Cup run in 2016 and seven this season.
• Shinyashiki broke Denver's Division I goals record on September 3 at SMU, a match after cracking the points and game-winning goals record with the game-winner against No. 3 Washington.
• DeVoss has played and started in 75 matches at centerback in the last 3 seasons for the Crimson and Gold. He's scored six goals off set-pieces, including two game-winners, and added an assist to his scoresheet, while leading one of the best defenses in the country during his career in the center of the park. DeVoss netted his first goal of the season on Sept. 9 against North Florida.
ANDRE HITS THE CENTURY MARK
• With his 13th career multi-goal game in Denver's win against Purdue Fort Wayne on October 5, senior captain
Andre Shinyashiki reached the century mark in points with goals 43 and 44 of his career.
• Shinyashiki completed the first hat trick of his career inside the opening 26 minutes of Denver's season-opening win against Monmouth on Aug. 24.
• The hat trick was the fastest in Denver's NCAA DI history, and the Pioneers first hat trick since Zach Bolden scored three times in the 2013 Summit League Semifinal against IUPUI.
• Shinyashiki also added an assist to his hat trick on opening night to tie Denver's single-game record at that point with seven points in a match.
• The 9:04 between the first and third goals on opening night for Shinyashiki was the 15th-fastest three-consecutive goals by the same player in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer history.
• For his opening night performance, Shinyashiki was named the College Soccer News National Player of the Week and USL PDL College Player of the Weekend, while also earning a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.
• Shinyashiki scored multiple goals in three season openers in his career, scoring twice in both the 2015 opener against Bakersfield and the 2017 opener against Florida Gulf Coast.
• Shinyashiki waited just four matches for his second career hat trick, scoring three times against North Florida on September 9.
• The Denver skipper had another five points in Denver's 3-1 win over Harvard on Sept. 14.
• Andre made it three hat tricks in seven matches, scoring all three goals in Denver's win over No. 22 San Francisco on Sept. 16. The Denver senior's fourth hat trick of the season came in the Summit League opener at Omaha on Sept. 23.
• Shinyashiki became the first Division I Pioneer to score four times in a match in the win at Omaha on Sept. 23. The first three goals came 3:51 apart, the eighth fastest three-consecutive goals by the same player in NCAA Division I history.
• Shinyashiki, who currently leads the country with 21 goals on the season, has scored more goals than about a quarter of the 205 NCAA Division I programs in the country (using team goal totals entering play on Monday and not including Denver). The Denver captain scored each of the Pioneers last 10 goals in September. Shinyashiki also has eight game-winning goals in Denver's 10 wins to lead the country in that category, and has scored in nine of the Pioneers 13 matches this season.
DEFENSIVE FORM
• The Pioneers allowed just one total shot in Denver's 4-0 win over Monmouth in the season opener on August 24. The single shot was a first-half header that drifted wide.
• DU held its opponent to one shot or less in the opener for the first time since October 2, 2016 in a match against Eastern Illinois.
• The Pioneers also held [-/RV] Saint Louis without a single shot in September of 2016.
• Denver allowed two shots on goal or less in eight matches in 2017, and have already done so in seven matches in 2018.
• DU allowed just nine shots on goal combined in the 2017 Summit League regular season.
• In 2017, Denver allowed just 54 shots on goal, for an average of 2.84/game.
• The 2018 Pioneers have allowed 41 shots on goal, an average of 3.15/game.
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER SOCCER STADIUM
• 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 Tournament, 2014 Summit League Men's and Women's Championships and 2015 and 2016 Summit League Men's Championship. DU will host the 2018 men's championship this November.
• DU Soccer Stadium has also hosted the 2012 NCAA Women's Soccer First Round, the 2015 and 2016 NCAA Men's Soccer Second Round and the 2016 NCAA Round of 16.
• Denver's men's program is 60-4-5 at home since
Jamie Franks joined the staff as an assistant in 2012 and 70-16-11 since the stadium opened.
GET IT EARLY OR LEAVE IT LATE • The Pioneers scored 78 seconds into their 4-0 win against North Florida on September 9, the fastest goal Denver has scored to start a game in their Division I history.
• Denver got an own goal off a
Moshe Perez free kick in the sixth minute and eventually won the match on an
Andre Shinyashiki strike from the top of the box in the 103rd minute to knock off No. 3 Washington (8/30) for the Pioneers first extra time win in 2018.
• Shinyashiki scored the equalizer vs. Omaha on October 28, 2017 with 16 seconds remaining in the 90th minute, a match the Pioneers eventually won on a
Graham Smith 93rd minute penalty. The leveler was Denver's latest equalizer/game-winner in its Division I history.
• Shinyashiki scored the game-winner in the 2016 Summit League Final vs. Omaha with 41 seconds left in regulation on Nov. 12, Denver's third goal in the 85th minute or later that season.
•
Graham Smith's 89th minute equalizer at Monmouth (8/26/16) in 2016 was Denver's latest equalizer/game-winner at the time in regulation since Alex Tarnoczi scored a 90th minute leveler (89:33) in Denver's 5-4 extra time win at UNLV on Oct. 16, 2011.
•
Blake Elder scored an 87th minute winner on Sept. 17, 2016 vs. North Florida to break a nil-nil deadlock and send Denver to its seventh-straight win.
•
Andre Shinyashiki's goal with eight seconds left in the second period of extra time against New Mexico (10/19/16) is Denver's latest goal on record in its Division I history.
• Shinyashiki scored with 94 seconds left in the second period of extra time to lift the Pioneers over Tulsa on Sept. 24.
• Freshman
Stefan DeLeone opened and ended the scoring in the 105th minute to send the Pioneers past eight-ranked Creighton in Omaha.
DENVER ATHLETICS SUCCESS • Denver Athletics has claimed the I-AAA Directors' Cup in 10 of the last 11 seasons, for the top finish in the Directors' Cup standings amongst schools without football.
• The Pioneers have claimed 33 National Championships in their history (Skiing 24, Hockey 8, Men's Lacrosse 1).
• Men's soccer's College Cup berth in 2016 is one of the athletic department's 21 National Semifinal appearances, including eight since 2011.
• Denver's 35th place overall Directors' Cup finish in 2016-17 is the department's best in its history. DU's men's programs finished fifth in the Capital One Cup for the second time in three years.
• Entering 2018-19, the Pioneers are one of five athletic departments in the country to take home an NCAA title in each of the last five years.
SEVEN-STRAIGHT 10-WIN SEASONS
• The Pioneers have recorded double-digit wins in each of the seven seasons since Franks' arrival as an assistant, averaging 13.5 a season from 2012-17, and posting 10 wins already in 2018. The Pioneers reached double digits in 2018 with their win over Purdue Fort Wayne on October 5.
• Denver last recorded 5 -consecutive double digit win seasons from 1986-1990, producing a five-season record of 78-15-8 in that span. Prior to the current stretch, Denver had never completed six-straight seasons in double-digits. From 2012-17, Denver went 80-25-16.
DENVER'S UNBEATEN STRETCHES
• Furman knocked off fourth-ranked Denver on Sept. 1, 2017, to snap Denver's 37-match regular season unbeaten streak that dated back to Halloween Night, 2014.
• The setback was the first in the regular season in the head coaching career of
Jamie Franks.
• In 2015-2016, DU became the first program to go unbeaten in consecutive regular seasons since Clemson did so in 1977-78.
• The Pioneers went unbeaten through the first 18 matches in 2015 for the first time since 1989 when the Pioneers started 20 matches unbeaten (19-0-1)...2015 marked the first time the Pioneers finished a Division I regular season unbeaten.
• DU was 20-0-3 before falling to No. 2 Wake Forest in the 2016 National Semifinals.
• Following Maryland's loss in the 2016 NCAA Second Round, the Pioneers were the last unbeaten team in the NCAA for the second-consecutive season.
• The Pioneers hadn't lost at home in regulation in their last 48 matches at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium, prior to losing to Saint Mary's on Sept. 17. Prior to that, Denver last lost in regulation to No. 21 Charlotte in the 2013 season opener.
WORK IN THE CLASSROOM
• The Denver men's soccer program topped the grade point average rankings according to the United Soccer Coaches' Association for the third-consecutive year in 2017-18. Denver finished with a 3.619 grade point average in 2016-17 and a 3.628 grade point average in 2017-18 to finish with the highest Division I GPA among the 205 NCAA men's soccer programs in the top division of college athletics.
• In 2015-16, the Pioneers turned in a 3.49 grade point average.
STAYING HOME IN COLORADO
• The Pioneers roster is made up of individual players from six other states.
• The Pioneers will take on nine teams that appeared in the 2018 United Soccer Coaches' Preseason Poll.
at No. 4 Akron (Exhibition/Aug. 11) - W, 1-0
vs. No. 24 Washington (Aug. 30/7 p.m.) - W, 3-2 (a.e.t.)
at No. 8 SMU (Sept. 3/6 p.m.) - W, 1-0
vs. No. 25 Colgate (Sept. 7/7 p.m.) - T, 1-1
vs. [RV] San Francisco (Sept. 16/1 p.m.) - W, 3-0
at [RV] Creighton (Oct. 2/6 p.m.) - W, 1-0 (a.e.t.)
at No. 15 Virginia (Oct. 8/4 p.m.) - L, 3-0
at [RV] Maryland (Oct. 16/5 p.m)
at No. 1 Stanford (Oct. 26/8 p.m.)
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL
• Denver was picked to win its sixth-straight Summit League Regular Season title in a vote of the league's head coaches in August.
• Denver is the preseason favorite in the Summit League for the fifth-straight season.
2018 Summit League Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll
Points (1st) 2017 Record (Summit Record)
1. Denver 24 (4) 11-6-2 (5-0, 15 pts.)
2. Omaha 22 (2) 10-6-3 (2-1-2, 8 pts.)
3. Western Illinois 17 5-10-1 (3-2, 9 pts.)
4. Eastern Illinois 11 4-9-6 (2-2-1, 7 pts.)
5. Oral Roberts 9 4-11-1 (1-4, 3 pts.)
6. Purdue Fort Wayne 7 5-9-4 (0-4-1, 1 pts.)
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
• This year's senior class helped lead the program to its first College Cup in program history in 2016, back-to-back undefeated regular seasons (2015-16), the first program to do that since 1977-78 (Clemson), a 37-match unbeaten streak, a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, three Summit League regular season titles and enters the match with a 56-9-10 record.
• The senior class enters the match third in the country in wins with 56. Denver has claimed 79.1-percent of its possible points since the start of the 2015 season, the second-highest rate in the country behind Wake Forest (83.9).
DENVER'S GOALIES AGAINST SPOT KICKS
•
Nick Gardner has saved two of nine penalty kicks against him in his career, including saving an extra time spot kick in Denver's 1-1 draw with Colgate on September 7.
• Gardner's other save came in the 2016 campaign.
•
Will Palmquist saved two of 11 penalty kicks against him in the shootout during the 2017 Summit League Final against Omaha.
NUMBER 1 IN THE COUNTRY • Less than a week after winning the top grade point average in the country for the third-consecutive year, Denver stood all alone atop the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 on October 8, the program's first No. 1 ranking in a national poll.
• Prior to October 8, 2018, Denver's previous high was third in the country in all four major polls.
• Denver received votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll on October 9th, but were ranked third in the poll.
2018 HONORS AND AWARDS
Sept. 4, 2018 -
Moshe Perez - TDS National Team of the Week
Sept. 10, 2018 -
Scott DeVoss - Summit League Defensive Player of the Week
October 9, 2018 -
Scott DeVoss - TDS National Team ofthe Week
October 12, 2018 -
Callum Stretch - #2 - TDS Midseason Freshman Top-100
October 12, 2018 -
Gideon Davis - #62 - TDS Midseason Freshman Top-100
October 12, 2018 -
Stefan DeLeone - #85- TDS Midseason Freshman Top-100
