CHARLESTON, Ill. – The University of Denver men's soccer team came from a goal behind to defeat Eastern Illinois 2-1 on Monday afternoon at Lakeside Field.

With the win, Denver moved to 18 points on the season, one behind Oral Roberts for the top spot in the table. ORU's season wrapped up last weekend, giving the Pioneers two games in hand to make-up that point. Denver will conclude the regular season with a home-and-home against Omaha, who it leads by two points in the table, reducing Denver's magic number to clinch the Summit League Championship and a berth to the NCAA Tournament to two points.

First Half:
Denver dominated possession and the chances in the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the home side 7-1 in the opening 45 minutes, including 6-1 on target. Eastern Illinois had four players booked in the first half, compared to just Liam Johnson on the Denver side.

Second Half:
Eastern Illinois took advantage of the first chance of the second half when Alejandro Lurbe picked out the upper-90 to give the Panthers the lead with his second goal of the season.

Denver's first attempt of the half pulled the Pioneers level in the 58^th minute when Johnson deposited a Jacob Stensson corner kick into the back of the net. Johnson's leveler was his first goal of the season and the second of his career (vs. Indiana – Sept. 6, 2019). Stensson's assist was his fourth of the season and the 18^th of his career, to move him into a tie for third with Reagan Dunk in Denver's Division I career record book.

Stefan DeLeone put Denver in-front in the 64^th minute, sliding his second goal of the season and the sixth of his career into the bottom left corner. Freshman midfielder Ben Smith earned his first career point with the assist on the play.

In total, Denver outshot Eastern Illinois 12-5, including 9-3 on target.

Up Next:
Denver will begin a two-match home-and-home series with Omaha on Thursday when the Pioneers travel to Nebraska to take on the Mavs at 8:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. MT. The two programs will head to Denver for the regular season finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT.

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