PORTLAND – The [RV/-] University of Denver women's soccer team closed out its first road trip of the 2019 campaign with a 2-1 loss at Portland on Sunday afternoon at Merlo Field.
"We came here to get two good games and we got them," head coach
Jeff Hooker said. "The biggest disappointment of the weekend was the non-call (penalty) in the first half today. I thought that was a real game changer because you feel like you should have had the opportunity to go up 2-1 there on the road. I thought we deserved better than the result we got today. Credit Portland though, they were well organized and took their chances well. We fought hard in the second half, and battled through the match. Overall, I'm happy with the fight in the team. You don't say it often when you give up two goals, but I thought our back four still played well again in this match, and our freshmen came off the bench and gave us some good minutes."
After dropping their first match of the season via an own goal on Thursday night, the Pioneers got on the board in the fourth minute on a Portland own goal as a
Meg Halvorson (Englewood, Colo.) ball in from just outside the box deflected off the head of Olivia Dendinger and over the arms of Portland keeper Jenny Wahlen. The Denver breakthrough was the program's 21
st-fastest goal to start a match in its Division I history.
Portland equalized in the 10
th minute on a finish from just inside the six-yard box from Kimberly Hazlett. Ellie Walker played Taryn Ries down the left side, and Ries got a cross off that snuck past the diving outstretched arms of senior goalkeeper
Brittany Wilson (Littleton, Colo.) for Hazlett on the back post.
Denver had a penalty shout in the 36
th minute as freshman
Sydney Sharp (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.) chipped the ball past Wahlen and was taken out by the keeper's slide just outside the six-yard box, but referee Joe Pickens ruled the keeper got a part of the ball in the challenge and booked head coach
Jeff Hooker during the injury stoppage.
The two teams went into the intermission level at 1-1 with Portland holding a 3-2 edge in shots in the opening 45 minutes.
Portland took a 2-1 lead 1:43 into the second half after a Denver turnover in the midfield allowed Ries to cleanly slip MJ Roe behind the Pioneers defense for a the 1v1 finish against Wilson.
Denver pressed for an equalizer in the second half, creating five corner kicks, taking eight shots and forcing a Portland defender to clear the ball off the goal line on a shot from
Hannah Adler (Oak Park, Calif.).
UP NEXT:
Denver will conclude a stretch of three-straight matches away from the University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Friday, when the Pioneers make the trip up I-25 to Fort Collins to take on Colorado State. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. MT.
DENVER TICKET OFFICE:
Tickets for men's and women's soccer games during the 2019 season are on sale now and can be
purchased here.
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.
SHOP PIONEERS:
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