MACOMB, Ill. – The University of Denver men's soccer team fell to Western Illinois 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.
"I'm very disappointed with my group," head coach Jamie Franks said. "The mentality of the group was wrong. We just got out worked today. The success of the program has always been built on three things that you can control: your positioning, your work rate and your mentality. This season, this team's work rate and their mentality have been poor. They have not been open to criticism. There has not been ownership every day to try to bring their best and get better. For that, we haven't gotten results.
"I do believe in this team, and believe in the leaders of the team. I really think that we can get it moving in the right direction. This is a definitely a tough moment for us, but it's one that if we approach with the right mentality, we'll grow from, and it'll make us better in the long run."
Junior transfer
Preston Judd (Henderson, Nev.) gave Denver the lead in the sixth minute, beating his defender before smashing his third goal of the season into the side netting of the far post. The goal for Judd is the 25
th of his career, including his 22 goals in the first two years of his collegiate career at California Baptist. Sophomore outside back
Lucas Russo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) earned the helper on Judd's opener, his second assist of the season.
Western Illinois equalized in the 17
th minute when Daisuke Otsuka snuck a bouncing ball past
Will Palmquist (Denver, Colo.) for his second of the season. Cesar Cosio gave the home side a 2-1 edge in the 20
th minute, getting on the end of Paul Kirdorf's free kick service from the left channel.
Denver equalized back before the intermission on
Josh Drack's (Chandler, Ariz.) third of the 2019 campaign. Judd, who caused problems for the Leathernecks defense several times in the opening 45 minutes, earned Denver a free kick just to the left of the D from 23 yards out. With Judd and Drack both lined up to take the dangerous free kick, Drack's strike got over the wall and dipped down quickly enough to catch the underside of the crossbar and go over the goal line to pull the visitors level at 2-2 in the 36
th minute.
The Pioneers held a 7-6 edge in shots in the opening 45 minutes, took six of the seven corners and kept 58 percent possession heading into the interval.
Ryan DeBois gave the Leathernecks the lead back in the 65
th minute, completing a counter attack from the middle of the box and finishing a pass on the ground from Western Illinois' left wing.
Freshman
Kengo Ohira (Tokyo, Japan) got Denver back level in the 70
th minute with a strike from outside the 18 that had a one-way ticket into the upper 90. Ohira has scored in consecutive appearances for the Pioneers and has a pair of goals this season.
Kirdorf setup another Western Illinois goal in the 75
th minute to give the home side the advantage at 4-3 with a quarter of an hour to play. WIU's Kyle Owen was the first to a corner kick service from Kirdorf to put the Leathernecks ahead again.
Judd nearly equalized less than a minute later, but his effort on goal was turned aside by Tim Trilk.
Denver allowed four goals in a match for the first time since allowing four to San Diego State in September of 2014 (L, 4-3).
UP NEXT:
Denver will continue its four-match road swing on Tuesday when the Pioneers battle Saint Louis in Missouri. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
DENVER TICKET OFFICE:
Tickets for the 2019 Denver men's and women's soccer season are on sale now and can be
purchased here.
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OUTSIDE FOOD/DRINK/PETS:
The University of Denver does not allow fans to bring outside food, drink or pets (with the exception of Bark in the Park Days) to the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
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