PHOENIX – The University of Denver men's soccer team got a first half tally from
Kengo Ohira and held Grand Canyon to just one shot on goal in the second half en-route to their seventh shutout of the season to earn the program's first NCAA win since 2016, a 1-0 victory on Thursday night at GCU Stadium.
Quotable – Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks:
"I'm really proud of the group. For us, our out of conference schedule was about trying to play in the best venues against the best teams in the country. You see adversity through that, and it prepares you to win knockout matches in November and December. I was really proud of the way that we defended tonight. We attacked together, we defended together, and we transitioned together. Overall, I'm just really proud of that performance tonight."
First Half:
Both teams were feeling each other out in the opening quarter hour, with neither team producing a clear-cut scoring opportunity. The Pioneers got the first two shots off, but neither were on target.
Denver's press created yet another chance and goal for the Pioneers in the 24
th minute.
Stefan DeLeone turned the Lopes over in the press and won a tackle to
Aidan O'Toole. O'Toole found the feet of Ohira in the center of the park, who drilled his shot from 20 yards out, hard and just under the crossbar to put the Pioneers in-front.
Ohira's goal was his fourth of the season, all of them coming in the last eight matches. Thursday's breakthrough was also the 10
th goal of his career.
Grand Canyon had a couple of chances to equalize, but their shots on target were limited to two from outside of the area and one from a low angle down their attacking right.
Denver had the best two chances at a second in the opening 45 minutes.
Trevor Wright beat the offside line and got on the end of a ball into the box, but he didn't get everything behind his chance and the Lopes' goalkeeper made a diving save on the goal line to keep it out and preserve the lead. The Pioneers next chance came a minute later when
Griffin Meyer got free for a volley in the box, but another good save from Anthony Munoz kept Denver's lead to just one at the intermission.
The Pioneers outshot Grand Canyon 6-4 in the opening 45 minutes with both teams putting three shots on target.
Second Half:
Denver's defensive prowess was the story of the second half, as the Pioneers gave up just one shot on target to maintain the lead in the second 45. The Pioneers got outshot 10-4 in the period, but got several blocked shots, including important stops by captain
Liam Johnson and a sliding challenge by
Trevor Wright to keep the score at 1-0.
The Pioneers were effective on the counter in the second half to keep the Lopes' honest, but Denver's defensive shift guided the Pioneers to their first NCAA Tournament win since defeating Clemson in the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2016.
N
otes:
- With the win, Denver improved to 5-8-1 in the NCAA Tournament, winning its first game since defeating UNLV (second round), No. 11 Washington (round of 16) and No. 3 Clemson in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
Up Next:
Denver will take on No. 8 Clemson in the NCAA Second Round on Sunday at 5 p.m. MT.
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