EUGENE, Oregon – The University of Denver women's soccer team (4-0-4, 0-0-0 Summit) posted its second-straight win over a Power-5 opponent with a 2-0 victory at Oregon on Sunday.
Freshman
Liv Moritz scored the first brace of her career, breaking what was a 0-0 tie at halftime with a 51
st-minute header and then adding a second goal less than nine minutes later. Senior
Vanessa Murray had assists on both goals with fellow senior
Jordan Crockett and graduate student
Kaitlyn Glover adding an assist each.
COACH'S NOTES:
From head coach
Julianne Sitch: "We feel like this was one of the most solid 90-minutes games we've put together. From the start to the end of the game, we were solid in our defensive press and what we were doing and just looking for our options to go forward."
Speaking about Moritz's goals: "She definitely gets herself in great positions, to give herself chances; but the balls and the services that (her teammates) are putting in around her are quality…it's great from Liv to keep her composure inside the box, but (it's also great) from the rest of the team to be able to find those passes for us to get on the other end of the ball."
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
- DU finished with a season-high 30 shot attempts, which is tied for seventh-most in DU's Division I history.
- It was the first time Denver eclipsed the 30+ mark since October 27, 2019, against Purdue Fort Wayne (39 shots).
- Denver's 17 first-half shots would have been more than DU had in the entire match in four of its previous seven matches this year and in all but four matches during the 2022 season.
- For the fourth time in eight matches, Moritz scored DU's opening goal, a first for a DU student-athletes since graduate student Sydney Sharp had four opening goals in seven matches from September 25 – October 22, 2021.
- With Moritz's on Sunday and junior Ella Frost's on Thursday against Colgate, Denver had a brace in back-to-back matches for the first time since Sharp, Sami Feller and Hannah Adler combined to do so against North Dakota and Purdue Fort Wayne on October 24-27, 2019.
- With its two goals on Sunday, Denver has now scored 13 of its 21 goals this season in the second half.
- This was Denver's 11th win over a Pac-12 team and its first since a 3-0 win over Utah on August 26, 2021.
FIRST HALF:
4' | Moritz clocked a ball toward the center of the box, but Oregon's keeper pushed the ball out wide. A few seconds later, she again found the ball at her feet along the endline but couldn't beat the keeper at the left post.
37' | After carrying the ball down the left side of the pitch, junior
Ella Frost put a ball on target where the Oregon keeper made the save. Senior
McKenna Dannenhauer received the rebound and got a shot off but pushed it high.
41' | On DU's fifth corner of the day, Murray collected the ball off the initial push, shooting from the edge of the 18-yard box and forcing the keeper to make the diving save.
SECOND HALF:
48' | Moritz first tapped the ball toward Glover, who spun to send it back toward the center. Junior
Samantha Dreiling met it after running up the middle of the field, but her shot trickled wide left.
51' | Following a tap from Murray, Crockett served a ball into the Oregon box where Moritz headed it back toward the far post and past the keeper.
60' | Murray again set up the attack for Denver, pushing a ball up from midfield toward Glover, who spun around to tap the ball to the penalty spot. Moritz finished the job by lifting it up and to the right of the keeper to find the back of the net.
80' | Shortly after subbing into the match, sophomore
Isabella Chidiac took a shot from 30 yards out and nearly dipped it under the cross bar, forcing the Oregon keeper to tip it clear.
WHAT'S NEXT:
DU (4-0-4, 0-0-0 Summit) concludes its non-conference slate when it hosts another Power-5 opponent in Colorado on Friday, September 15, at 7 p.m. MT.
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