DENVER – The [RV] University of Denver men's soccer team stretched its unbeaten run to three-consecutive matches with a 1-0 win over Evansville in the Pioneers' home opener on Friday night at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
DEN: Wright 41' (Fisher),
Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks:
"Clean sheets gets you wins. For us, we want our home field to be a fortress. It's a place that we've had a ton of success over the last decade, and we like to play up tempo at home. I thought we did that tonight, but to have so many scoring opportunities and only come away with the one goal is disappointing. There are so many things to work on, but we've got a great group of guys.
"We're trying to figure out what guys belong on the field. There's a lot of competition internally for positions, and ultimately whoever wins those spots are going to be at their best. We have a lot of guys playing well. All our focus turns now to three points on Sunday."
First Half:
Denver controlled the pace of play from the opening whistle in the opening 45 minutes, keeping 59% of the possession in the first half, while outshooting the visitors 8-1 and taking seven of the eight corner kicks.
The Pioneers found the breakthrough in the 41st minute courtesy of Trevor Wright's first goal in Crimson and Gold. Lukas Fisher played the corner just outside the six yard box. The service bounced off a body in the box, but Wright was the first to the loose ball in the box, smashing it home to give the Pioneers the first-half advantage.
Second Half:
Evansville pushed for the equalizer, throwing numbers forward in the second half, but the Pioneers limited the Aces to just one shot on target in Kobe Gray's first action in between the pipes for the Pioneers since a trip to Tulsa in October of 2019.
The Pioneers created several chances to double their lead, but couldn't find the back of the net. Eli Mereness had a shot from distance early in the second 45 that flew just wide, and seconds later Stefan DeLeone had his attempt on goal from just inside the area kept out from a diving save by Jacob Madden.
In the 84th minute, Destan Norman looked for his second goal in as many matches, but another diving save from Madden kept it out momentarily. DeLeone followed the Norman shot and tapped it into an open net, but the Denver senior was judged to be in an offside position.
In total, the Pioneers outshot Evansville 17-6, including 7-1 on target, and held a 9-2 advantage in corners.
Up Next:
Denver wraps-up its mini two-match homestand on Sunday at 2 p.m. MT when the Pioneers welcome Cal State Fullerton to the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
Tickets:
Denver men's and women's soccer season tickets and single game tickets for the 2021 campaign are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
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