DENVER – The University of Denver women's soccer team had two student-athletes score their first career goals and
Sydney Sharp netted a goal in her seventh-consecutive match to lead the Pioneers past North Dakota 6-0 on Friday afternoon at Bronson Field.
Scoring Summary:
DEN (11-5-0, 6-0-0): Sharp 26', Beckman 33', Crockett 57', Gallegos 66', Dannenhauer 71', Hyrup 76' (pen)
UND (3-10-1, 1-5-0):
Quotable – Head Coach Jeff Hooker:
"I really felt like North Dakota was super organized in how they wanted to play and defend us in the first half, and they made it very hard for us to break them down early. They kept turning us backwards, and I really don't think we got going until we got the goal. After that, the game was always going to open up.
"I'm really proud of our team and how for the second game in a row, they took the information we gave them halftime and really applied it well on the field. The integrity of the entire second 45 minutes for me was unbelievable. I thought we did all the little things right, and the ball speed was amazing. I'm really proud of watching us go out and play a full 90 minutes."
Inside the Box Score:
Denver outshot North Dakota 21-3, including 13-1 on goal.
First Half:
Friday afternoon's Summit League match-up of a pair of NCHC Hockey rivals started very quiet in the opening quarter hour.
Kaitlyn Glover got the first chance of the day that didn't come until the 18
th minute, but her header off a cross from
Sami Feller glanced wide of the post.
Denver opened the scoring in the 26
th minute through
Sydney Sharp's seventh goal in as many appearances, scoring a single goal in all seven.
Jordan Crockett took a free kick 10 yards inside Denver's attacking half.
Brittney Lewis was the target of the sideways free kick. Lewis took a touch and played it to the diagonal run of Sharp. Sharp let it bounce twice and fall to her feet before firing it back across the face of goal and inside the far post for the breakthrough.
Just over seven minutes later,
Natalie Beckman doubled Denver's lead to give the Pioneers their two-goal advantage heading into the break. Feller started the scoring sequence with a dangerous cross in from the Denver left. The cross was broken up by a defender, but only as far as Sharp. Sharp touched it back just inside the top of the box to Beckman who curled her 17-yard effort inside the far post for her third goal of the season.
The Pioneers had 58% possession in the opening 45 minutes, outshooting North Dakota 5-1, including 3-1 on target. Denver also took three of the four corner kicks in the first half.
Second Half:
The second half started much quicker than the first. Sharp had two quick chances at her first multi-goal game of the season, but was denied once by the keeper and rattled the crossbar with her second attempt of the half. A couple of minutes later in the 56
th, Sharp touched the ball around the keeper and was brought down in the area, but no penalty was awarded. Denver didn't quit on the play however as Beckman got the ball to Crockett, who fired a shot from the top corner of the penalty box over the goalkeeper and inside the far post side netting. Crockett's goal is her second of the season, with the other one coming as the game-winner in Denver's extra time win over Colorado State in August.
Denver made it 4-0 in the 66
th minute through the first career goal of
Hannah Gallegos' career. A cross in from Beckman was cleared to the top of the box. Gallegos took the bouncing ball on the volley and struck it off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
McKenna Dannenhauer made it 5-0 in the 71
st off an assist from Glover. Glover slipped in Dannenhauer through the North Dakota defense and the Denver sophomore made no mistake with her fourth goal of the 2021 campaign.
Denver made it 6-0 in the 76
th minute from the penalty spot as
Addisyn Hyrup took her spot kick well for the first goal of her career.
Notes:
- Sharp has scored in 16 of her last 23 appearances, including in 12 of 16 this season and in each of her last seven.
- Sharp has the game-winning goal in five-straight matches for the Pioneers.
- Beckman now has 14 assists this season and 43 in her career.
- 14 assists in a season is tied for second with Jamie Norwood and Beckman's 2020 performance. Beckman is one assist behind Nicholette DiGiacomo from tying the single-season record.
- Beckman's three-point day brings her career total to 81 points, bringing her into a tie with teammate Sami Feller for sixth in Denver's career record book.
- Denver has 15 different goal scorers this year, its most since 2006, when the Pioneers had 18 different student-athletes score.
Up Next:
The Pioneers close out the road portion of their 2021 regular season schedule on Sunday with a trip to North Dakota State. Kickoff is set for 12 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.
Coronavirus Updates
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