• Denver's 2017 season came to an end in an 11-round penalty kick shootout in the Summit League Final at Omaha last November. 

• Following a 3-2 spring that included 3-0 wins at New Mexico and at Creighton and a 5-0 win over Northwestern at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium, the Pioneers set a two-match tune-up to Friday's season opener. In the fall friendlies, the Pioneers drew with New Mexico 2-2 four days after a 1-0 win at [4/2] Akron. 

• Denver will officially open the 2018 campaign on Friday when the Pioneers welcome Monmouth to the University of Denver Soccer Stadium (7 p.m. MT/Altitude). The Pioneers got an 89th minute equalizer from Graham Smith in the 2016 season opener at Monmouth in the only previous meeting between the two programs. 

• The Pioneers will have just shy of a full week before its next match when Denver hosts Washington on Thursday, August 30th in a rematch of a 2016 2-1 Denver win in the 2016 NCAA Round of 16 at DU Soccer Stadium. 

SIX-STRAIGHT 10-WIN SEASONS          

• The Pioneers have recorded double-digit wins in each of the six seasons since Franks' arrival as an assistant, averaging 13.5 a season from 2012-17. The Pioneers reached double digits in 2017 with their win at Western Illinois on Nov. 4. 

• 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 has gone 81-25-16. 

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 46-8-8 as a head coach through his first 3 seasons with the Pioneers.

• The Pioneers are 81-25-16 since Franks' arrival as an assistant coach prior to the start of the 2012 season.

• Combined as a college player and coach, Franks is 180-52-33, reaching now 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.

OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN           

• Denver is co-captained by Andre Shinyashiki and Scott DeVoss in 2018. 

• Shinyashiki has made 61 appearances in the last three seasons for Franks' Pioneers, netting 23 goals and adding 11 assists for 57 career points. Of his 23 goals, eight have been game-winners, including five game-winning tallies in the Pioneers College Cup run in 2016.

• DeVoss has played and started in 61 matches at centerback in the last three seasons for the Crimson and Gold. He's scored five 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. 

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 24-2-3 in the conference regular season, including 15-0-2 in the regular season since Franks took over as head coach.   

• The 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. 

GET ON THE BOARD FIRST           

• The Pioneers were 11-1-1 in 2014, 14-0-1 in 2015, 18-0-0 in 2016 and 10-1-1 in 2017 when scoring the first goal.

• Since Franks' arrival in 2012, the Pioneers are 74-3-7 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. 

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 second-consecutive year in 2016-17. Denver finished with a 3.619 grade point average that year 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. 

• In 2017-18, the Pioneers recorded a 3.628 grade point average, and will find out later this fall if that's good enough for the top GPA in the country for the third-consecutive year. 

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 53-4-4 at home since Jamie Franks joined the staff as an assistant in 2012 and 63-16-10 since the stadium opened. 

• The Pioneers are 46-3-2 in their last 51 matches at home. 

KRONENBERG GETS BACK ON THE SCORESHEET           

• 34 months and two knee surgeries later, 2014 Denver men's soccer leading scorer Eric Kronenberg found the back of the net for the first time since the 2014 Summit League Final on Sept. 15, 2017, firing a bullet from outside the area into the back of the net to open the scoring in Denver's 3-0 over UC Davis. 

• 1,034 days separated the two goals for the redshirt-senior, who now has 12 goals in his career in 50 CAPS, all off the bench for the Pioneers. 

• Kronenberg scored his second goal of the 2017 campaign on Oct. 7 against Eastern Illinois, the lone goal in the Pioneers' Summit League opener. 

• Kronenberg, is now sixth in Denver's Division I history in game-winning goals with six. 

DEFENSIVE FORM        

• Denver 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. 

GET IT EARLY OR LEAVE IT LATE        

• 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. 

• Alex Underwood 's breakthrough (1:38) at No. 25 Rutgers in 2016 (8/28/16) was Denver's second-fastest goal since 2004, behind a Scott DeVoss opener against Western Illinois in the 2015 Summit League Semifinals (1:20)...On Sept. 3, 2017, holding mid Ryan Barlow scored 1:40 into proceedings in Denver's 2-0 win over Drake on Sept. 3, 2017.   

• 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. 

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 four years. 

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. 

DENVER CONTINUES PARTNERSHIP WITH ALTITUDE SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT      

• The Pioneers will have nine fall sports games on Altitude in the first two months of the 2018 broadcast schedule, including three men's soccer matches. 

• Denver and the RSN will announce more fall sports contests following the release of the 2018-19 NBA schedule. 

• Denver's partnership with Altitude began in 2013-14 with men's and women's lacrosse, before Denver's fall sports were added to the coverage slate in 2014-15, including both 2014 Summit League Soccer Championships. 

• Brad Thompson and Tyler Maun will share the play-by-play duties for the men's program, while Chris Bianchi will serve as the program's primary analyst for the fourth-straight season. 

STAYING HOME IN COLORADO                         

• 12 of Denver's 26 student-athletes are from Colorado, including newcomers Stefan DeLeone, Liam Johnson and Connor McWilliams. 

• The Pioneers roster is made up of individual players from six other states. 

• Denver has eight players with international hometowns, including newcomers Moshe Perez (Israel), Ole Berg (Norway), Emil Fosse (Norway), Gideon Davis (Spain) and Dennis Werngren (Sweden). 

DENVER'S 2018 SCHEDULE          

• 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.)

at No. 8 SMU (Sept. 3/6 p.m.)

vs. No. 25 Colgate (Sept. 7/7 p.m.)

vs. [RV] San Francisco (Sept. 16/1 p.m.)

at [RV] Creighton (Oct. 2/6 p.m.)

at No. 15 Virginia (Oct. 8/4 p.m.)

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. 

• The Pioneers have been selected as the preseason favorite in each of their now six seasons in the league.

• Captains Andre Shinyashiki and Scott DeVoss were both named to the Summit League's Players to Watch list. 

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.)

Denver's Summit League Preseason Poll History

Year Preseason Poll Voting Point Gap Regular Season Finish

2018 1 2

2017 1 4 1st (5-0-0)

2016 1 7 T-1st (5-0-1)

2015 1 1 1st (5-0-1)

2014 1 7 T-1st (3-2-1)

2013 1 4 1st (6-0-0)

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 46-8-8 record. 

• The senior class enters the campaign tied for fourth in the country in wins with 46. Denver has claimed 78.5-percent of its possible points since the start of the 2015 season, the third-highest rate in the country behind Wake Forest (81.9) and Stanford (80.2).