DENVER – The University of Denver women's soccer team (1-0-4, 0-0-0 Summit) captured its first win of the 2023 season with a 3-1 victory over Northern Colorado at University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Thursday night.
DU took a 2-0 lead off goals from junior
Riley Baker and senior
Vanessa Murray in the 21
st and 24
th minutes, respectively. UNC pulled within one after converting a penalty kick in the dying seconds of the first half, but junior
Blythe Sales put Denver up by two once again with a 74
th-minute strike.
COACH'S NOTES:
From head coach
Julianne Sitch: "It was great to get out tonight and get that first win. It was a great team performance. Riley's goal was great. Vanessa's goal was a quality goal. And for Blythe to get a goal here at the end…it's been a lot of work in progress. The team has been extremely committed to everything, and I'm just really proud of the effort and really proud of the way that the team keeps coming together."
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
- For the first time in her career, Murray logged three points with her goal and an assist on Sales' second-half goal.
- DU's allowed a season-low three shots to Northern Colorado and has now outshot its opponents in four of five matches so far in 2023.
- For the second time in its Division I history, Denver scored consecutive goals exactly 3:01 apart (first time: September 5, 2008, vs. Montana).
- Two Pioneers saw their first playing minutes of the season in sophomore Hannah Tate and junior Delaney McGowan, who entered into the match in the second half.
- Thursday's win marks Sitch's first win at the Division I level and her 23rd overall as a collegiate head coach.
FIRST HALF:
5' | Baker had her first scoring chance of the night, forcing the UNC keeper to punch the ball clear of her crossbar. On the subsequent corner, graduate student
Hannah Gallegos' header went a tad wide, but sophomore
Lily O'Grady put another shot on target a few seconds later.
21' | Glover arched the ball from midfield to the right corner of the box, meeting a fast-approaching Dreiling, who tapped it to Baker and set up the junior's strike above the keeper's head to put DU up, 1-0.
24' | Just 3:01 after Baker's goal, Murray gained control off a UNC goal kick and singlehandedly carried the ball from midfield to the edge of box, launching the ball past a diving UNC keeper and into the right side of the net.
44' | Junior
Kiera Flanagan sent a cross into the center of the box where fellow junior
Jadyn Goodrich tried to lift the ball into the net but ended up tipping it too high.
45' | Gallegos was called for a handball while turning away from the ball inside the penalty area with just five seconds left in the half. For the second time in as many matches, freshman keeper
Molly Wissman faced down a penalty shot but was unable to make the save.
SECOND HALF:
58' | O'Grady dribbled around and through three UNC defenders and sent a sneaky, fast shot from 25 yards out, just barely missing the net wide left.
74' | Murray perfectly threaded a ball from beyond the center circle, catching Flanagan in stride along the right side of the UNC box. She sent the ball toward the penalty spot where Sales met it at the perfect time to redirect it right of the keeper.
WHAT'S NEXT:
DU (1-0-4, 0-0-0 Summit) continues its three-match homestand when it welcomes NC State to University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Sunday, September 3, at 12 p.m. MT.
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