MACOMB, Ill. – The University of Denver women's soccer team got goals from
Sydney Sharp and
Devan McSwain and kept its second cleansheet in the last three matches to start league play, defeating Western Illinois 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Northwest Field.
Scoring Summary:
DEN (8-5-0, 3-0-0): Sharp 11', McSwain 73'
WIU (7-5-1, 1-3-0):
Quotable – Head Coach Jeff Hooker:
"We struggled at the start to adjust to the thick grass of the practice field we were playing on today. We had to really concentrate on putting more pace on our passes so that we could play with the tempo we like to play with. Once we adjusted, I thought we were in good shape. We created a lot of quality chances, they just didn't come off. That second goal was important to give us a cushion. We went really deep into our bench today, and I'm proud of how the entire team played, but
Brittney Lewis quietly had herself a great weekend. She wasn't 100% physically this week, but turned in a couple of great performances on the road for us."
First Half:
The Pioneers controlled possession and the chances in the opening 45 minutes, outshooting Western Illinois 9-1, including 4-0 on goal in the first half.
Junior forward
Sydney Sharp continued her impressive run of form, netting her ninth goal of the season to give the Pioneers a goal advantage in the 11
th minute.
Sami Feller and
Natalie Beckman combined in the build-up to setup the Sharp breakthrough. Beckman and Feller both have nine assists on the season.
Denver used its bench in the first half, with 18 players seeing action in the first half. The Pioneers took the 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Second Half
The Pios continued to set the tempo of play in the second half and doubled its lead in the 73
rd minute through
Devan McSwain's first career goal. The goal came off a Denver corner. The ball bounced a few times in the box, and McSwain went to ground and poked it into the back of the net to open her collegiate account.
Denver outshot Western 8-5 in the second half, but only allowed one shot on target. The Pioneers also took three of the four corners in the second 45 in pursuit of a third.
Overall, Denver finished with a 17-6 edge in shots and doubled the home side up in corners 6-3. The Pioneers put 8 of their 17 shots on target, while limiting the Leathernecks to just the one second-half shot on target in the 90 minutes.
Notes:
- Sharp has scored in 13 of her last 20 appearances, including in 9 of 13 this season and in each of her last four.
- Beckman now has nine assists this season and 38 in her career.
- Beckman is now one assist away from tying the program record set by both Nicholette DiGiacomo and Jamie Norwood.
- Beckman's assist also brought her career point total to 74, good for ninth in Denver's DI record book.
- Feller's assist was her ninth of the season and the 24th of her career.
- Feller is tied for seventh in career assists in Denver's DI record book.
- The assist also brought her career point total to 78.
- Feller is seventh in career points in Denver's Di history.
- McSwain became Denver's 13th different goal scorer this season, tying for the most in a single season since 2010.
Up Next:
The Pioneers will return home for the first time since September 19 when they take on Kansas City on Friday at 4 p.m. MT. The Pioneers will also wrap-up their first home weekend in Summit League play with a game against Oral Roberts. Sunday's kickoff is set for 1 p.m. MT.
Tickets:
Denver men's and women's soccer single game tickets for the 2021 campaign are on sale now, and can be purchased
here.
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