MACOMB, Ill. – The University of Denver men's soccer team opened the league calendar with a 2-1 win at Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.
Scoring Summary:
DEN: Mecham 23', DeLeone 33' (pen)
WIU: Mehrang 75'
Inside the Box Score:
A pair of first half goals from upperclassmen led Denver to all three points to open the Summit League slate. The Pioneers outshot Western Illinois 14-7, including 8-2 on goal, and took the only four corners on Saturday afternoon.
Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks:
"Anytime you can get three points on the road in conference, you take it. These games are tough. Everyone who has played in Macomb, Ill., understands the conditions and the elements you have to deal with. Allowing the goal at the end makes the game more interesting than it needed to be. There's some learning lessons that we have to take a look at coming out of this match, but I'm really proud of the group for coming away with all three points. We have a whole week off now, we can train, we can get better, and we're looking forward to getting a chance to play at home next weekend."
First Half:
Neither team could find its footing in the opening 20 minutes, but once the Pioneers did, they controlled the rest of the opening 45 minutes.
Despite controlling the possession, Denver's first shot on goal came in the 23rd minute, the second career goal and first as a Pioneer for Jake Mecham. Ben Smith and Kengo Ohira combined down the Denver left before Ohira drove his cross low across the face of goal. Mecham took a couple touches before smashing it past the keeper and under the crossbar from just outside the six yard box.
Within the next 10 minutes, Denver created four more high quality chances to double the lead, eventually doing so on Stefan DeLeone's penalty in the 33rd.
DeLeone had the second shot on target for the Pioneers in the 26th, but it was kept out by goalkeeper Seanan Main. A couple of minutes later, Trevor Wright was the first to a Denver corner, but his shot was also kept out by the Western Illinois goalkeeper.
In the 30th minute, DeLeone had another shot stopped before getting tangled up in the box with Main. Main stomped on DeLeone while he was on the ground and was sent off, giving the Pioneers a spot kick and reducing the Leathernecks to 10 men. Substitute goalkeeper Alex Flowers stopped DeLeone's penalty to keep the Pioneers lead at a goal just shy of the half hour mark.
A few minutes later, Destan Norman was the first to a bouncing ball in the box, and was tripped up from behind, giving the Pioneers their second penalty kick in 2:29. DeLeone made no mistake on his second attempt from 12 yards out, smashing his take into the side netting to double Denver's lead heading into the half. DeLeone's goal was the seventh of his Pioneer career.
Denver outshot Western Illinois 7-4 in the first half, putting all seven shots on target. The Pioneers also took the only three corner kicks of the first half.
Second Half:
Denver got four of the first five shots off in the second half, and blocked Western's first two attempts on goal in the second 45. The home side did pull a goal back in the 75th minute, getting to a blocked shot first and putting it in the back of the net. Daisuke Otsuka dribbled his way into the box, and had his initial attempt on goal blocked by a Denver defender. Otsuka got the rebound, took a couple touches to his left and played it into the center of the box to Arian Mehrang, who found twine from just beyond the penalty spot to cut Denver's lead to 2-1 with a quarter hour to play.
Up Next:
The Pioneers will start a stretch of three of the next four and four of the next six at home next weekend when Denver welcomes Eastern Illinois to the University of Denver Soccer Stadium next Saturday at 7 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.
DONATE:
Fans interested in making a donation to the Pioneers Athletic Fund can do so by clicking here. Your gift will transform the lives of our student-athletes by giving them the first-class resources needed to excel in the classroom, in competition and beyond. Thank you for Building Pioneers for Life!
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of Denver's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Men's Soccer on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MSoccer on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @denversoccer on Instagram
