DENVER – The University of Denver women's soccer team (7-1-5, 3-0-1 Summit) came back from an early goal deficit to defeat its Summit League rival South Dakota State, 4-2, on Thursday night.
SDSU claimed a 1-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game, but Denver drew even off freshman
Michaela McGowan's second career goal, scored in the 43
rd minute – only three and a half minutes after graduate student
Hannah Gallegos was forced to leave the game with an injury.
Just 55 seconds into the second half, freshman
Liv Moritz put DU up 2-1, though SDSU found its own equalizer in the 77
th minute. Exactly five minutes later, senior
McKenna Dannenhauer scored what would be the game winner for Denver, and junior
Ella Frost added an insurance goal just over four minutes later.
COACH'S NOTES: From head coach
Julianne Sitch: "I'm unbelievably proud of the character that this team showed tonight. It's hard to have one of your captains and a leader go down in the game. However, the way that the team responded for each other, for Hannah, for our program is unbelievable.
"
Kaitlyn Glover said it best at the end of the game, that that's how we show up and support one another and that's how we play for each other. This is something we'll remember. If we continue with that, we'll do great things this year."
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
- For the second time this season and the 20th time in program history, Denver scored consecutive goals in five minutes or less (also against Colgate on September 7):
- McGowan's (42:32) and Moritz's (45:55) goals were just 3:23 apart.
- Dannenhauer's (81:05) and Frost's (85:18) goals were just 4:13 apart.
- Dannenhauer's game winner was the second of her career and the first since Denver's second match of the 2022 season against Weber State on August 21.
- Both of the senior's goals so far in 2023 have come in the final 10 minutes of a match (also the 84th minute against NC State on September 3).
- Moritz reclaimed the team lead with her sixth goal of the season – breaking the tie with Glover, who has the assist on her goal.
- Sophomore Hannah Tate made the first start of her career and played a career-best 65 minutes.
- Denver is now the lone remaining undefeated team in Summit League play this year.
FIRST HALF:
10' | SDSU got on the board first, deflecting an Avery Murdzek shot awkwardly past Wissman on the second chance off a corner.
43' | McGowan initiated a DU scoring chance with a first shot from a tough angle. SDSU's Jocelyn Tanner made the save but conceded a rebound that Sales collected and turned back toward McGowan, who chased it down and sent it past a diving Tanner.
SECOND HALF:
46' | After a sneaky touch from Glover through two SDSU defenders, Moritz finished carrying the ball through the box and tapped it into the back of the net.
55' | Off an SDSU corner kick, Wissman made an initial save while sophomore
Lily O'Grady cleared a second show from just in front of the goal line to keep DU up, 2-1.
77' | SDSU's Reagan Anderson found the match's second equalizer with a header off a corner kick.
81' | Junior Jadyn Goodrich began a DU attack, sending the ball around the edge of the 18-yard box to an approaching Kiera Flanagan. As Flanagan set up the cross, Dannenhauer approach the net in time to head Flanagan's ball off Tanner's hands and into the net.
86' | Frost settled a cleared SDSU ball and throttled toward the net from 20 yards out, bouncing it off the bottom of the crossbar and off the keeper to give Denver the two-goal lead.
WHAT'S NEXT:
DU (7-1-5, 3-0-1 Summit) celebrates its seniors on Senior Day when it hosts South Dakota on Sunday, October 8, at 12 p.m. MT.
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