[7/9] Denver Takes Down Western Illinois 4-0

Saturday, October 20

Denver, Colo.

7:00 PM

University of Denver

11-2-2 (3-0-1)

Western Illinois

2-9-3 (0-3-1)

Team	1	2	Final F
Western Illinois	0	0	0
Denver	2	2	4

Photo by: Carol MacKay

10/20/2018 9:32:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photos

Four different players find the back of the net in Denver’s 11th victory of the season

By: Niko Blankenship

DENVER – The [7/9] University of Denver men's soccer team got a goal apiece from each of its front four to lead the Pioneers past Western Illinois 4-0 on Saturday night at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.

"Our first goal is to win the Summit League regular season, and we're three points away from just that," head coach Jamie Franks said. "We put ourselves in a good position, and have an important match against Oral Roberts in a few weeks time to accomplish that goal. Our energy and focus now gets turned to Saint Louis on Tuesday. I was happy with the performance overall. We got on the front foot and controlled the areas of the game that we wanted from the opening whistle."

In his first home match back since August, senior Moshe Perez (Shim'a, Israel) opened the scoring in the 12^th minute. Sophomore Destan Norman (Fort Collins, Colo.) played a ball into Perez 30 yards out in the center of the field. Perez turned and curled his second goal of the season inside the post.

Senior Andre Shinyashiki (Sao Paulo, Brazil) netted his NCAA-leading 22^nd goal of the 2018 campaign in the 42^nd minute off combination play from freshman Liam Johnson (Golden, Colo.) and senior Tosh Samkange (Sammamish, Wash.).

Shinyashiki and senior winger Kenny Akamatsu (Niigata, Japan) combined on Denver's third tally of the evening. Denver's leading scorer played Akamatsu down the left side, who cut back into the center of the bark and slipped freshman Stefan DeLeone (Fort Collins, Colo.) in behind for his finish around the Western Illinois keeper for his third of the campaign.

Akamatsu scored a goal of his own in the 59^th minute, firing his second of the season from 25 yards out off an assist from freshman centerback Callum Stretch (Encino, Calif.). Denver outshot Western Illinois 15-5, and the Pioneers' defense held Western Illinois without a shot on goal in the victory.

UP NEXT:
Denver is back in action on Tuesday as the Pioneers welcome Saint Louis back to the Mile High City. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast live on Altitude 2. The Pioneers will then wrap-up their home schedule at Stanford on Oct. 26 (8 p.m. MT), before hosting Oral Roberts on Senior Day, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. MT.

TICKETS:
Single-game tickets for the 2018 Denver men's soccer season are also on sale, and can be purchased here.

PIONEER MOVEMENT: Fans interested in making a donation to the men'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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