MACOMB, ILL. – The [RV/RV] University of Denver men's soccer team got a first-half goal and kept its second-straight cleansheet in a 1-0 win over Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.
Significant Stats:
- Bryce Willoughby got Denver on the board in the 35th minute, his second goal of the season, and his first in Summit League play.
- Denver has outscored opponents 4-1 in the final 15 minutes of the opening half this season.
- The Pioneers outshot Western Illinois 9-3, including 4-1 on target. Denver's only shot on target allowed was a slow bouncing ball from outside the box, saved comfortably by Isaac Nehme.
- Denver had seven of the 10 corners in the 90 minutes.
- DU improved to 128-10-16 when scoring first, including 7-1-2 this season.
- The shutout is Denver's 103rd since Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks joined the staff in 2012.
- Nehme's seventh shutout of the season puts him into a tie with Matt Bredehoft (2006) and Nick Gardner (2017) for the fifth-most shutouts in a single season in the program's DI history.
- The Denver sophomore's cleansheet is also the 17th of his Denver career, tying Oliver Brown (2011-14) for the third most in a career in DU history.
- Aidan O'Toole became Denver's seventh Division I player to play in 80 career matches on Saturday afternoon.
First Half:
7' Xavier Gagnon got the first clear opportunity for either side, having a shot towards Nehme goal, but it was blocked in-front by Jason Belloli and out for a Western corner.
18' Sam Bassett had a bouncing ball come to him at the top of the box, but his attempt on target was blocked in-front and headed out of danger by the Western Illinois defense.
35' Willoughby got Denver on the board, turning Western Illinois over in the press off a pass from the center back to the Leathernecks goalkeeper. Willougby got to the ball, touched it around the keeper, and slid his shot into the open net for his second of the year.
Second Half:
69' Lukas Fisher got Denver's first good look in the second half, combining down the right flank for the Pioneers, but after a Dylan Akau pullback to the penalty spot, Fisher had his shot blocked in-front and out for a Denver corner.
76' Bassett nearly scored directly off a corner kick, curling his set piece off the top of the crossbar. After the ball was recycled around, Ian Smith got on the end of a Denver cross, but his glancing header bounced wide of the target.
83' Dominic Kallay found open space in the center of the park, getting one-on-one with the Leathernecks keeper, but Ouendeno made the stop on the freshman's strike to keep things at 1-0.
Up Next:
Denver will return to the University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Wednesday night when the Pioneers host Omaha. The midweek kick is set for 7 p.m. MT and will be broadcast live on the Summit League Network.
Tickets:
Single game tickets for Denver men's and women's soccer are on-sale now and can be purchased here.
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