DENVER – The University of Denver women's soccer team (2-0-4, 0-0-0 Summit) used a season-best four goals to defeat NC State, 4-2, at University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Denver carried a 3-0 lead through the first 76 minutes of play with goals from graduate student
Kaitlyn Glover, freshman
Michaela McGowan and sophomore
Lily O'Grady before NC State scored twice in two and a half minutes. Four minutes later, senior
McKenna Dannenhauer seized momentum back for Denver with her first goal of the season to seal the DU victory.
COACH'S NOTES:
From head coach
Julianne Sitch: "I could not be more proud of the team. I'm very proud of the win but as I told (the team), I'm more proud of how they reacted to giving up those two goals.
"We had numerous people with different goals or scoring their first goal, and that's amazing. It was a great team win and a great team effort."
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
- Two Denver student-athletes – McGowan and O'Grady – netted their first career goals.
- For the second time in three matches, freshman Liv Moritz had two assists to extend her team-leading points count to eight on the season.
- Glover became the DU leader for goals scored so far in 2023 with her third after a first-half deflection to open the day's scoring.
- Sunday's victory was Denver's first over a Power-5 opponent since the 2021 season when the Pioneers defeated Utah and Kansas State in consecutive games on August 26 and September 2.
- It was also DU's first win over an ACC team since a 1-0 victory over Clemson in a neutral-site match on September 3, 2006.
- For the fourth time in its last five matches, Denver outshot its opponent, posting a 21-5 margin on Sunday. In each of those four matches, DU's opponent has been held to seven shots or fewer.
FIRST HALF:
8' | Moritz sent a ball off her left foot and toward the net, but Glover gave it a light deflection and sent it farther right of the NCSU keeper.
32' | After McGowan's first shot of the day was blocked,
Ella Frost collected the rebound but sent the ball too high.
35' | McGowan single-handedly carried the ball from midfield, shooting from just beyond the left edge of the box and ricocheted the ball off the right post to give DU the 2-0 lead.
SECOND HALF:
49' | Frost was taken down inside the left corner of the box, earning Denver's first penalty kick of the season. Glover took the shot, but NCSU's keeper made the save.
51' | Graduate student
Camryn MacMillan beautifully threaded the ball behind the NCSU back line, meeting an approaching Baker, but the NCSU keeper blocked the junior's shot clear of the goal.
54' | Moritz bumped the ball back to an awaiting Jordan Crockett, whose cross went right to the center of the penalty area. O'Grady leaned in and headed the ball past the keeper.
77' | NC State cleared the ball from just outside of its own box. It landed in front of Jameese Joseph just past the circle, and she carried it toward net and sent it past Wissman.
80' | The Wolfpack pulled within one with a header from Alexis Strickland that bounced inside the box before it rebounded off the left post and snuck over the line.
84' | Off a Denver throw-in near the right corner flag, Dannenhauer dribbled back and around two NCSU defenders, toeing the end line before lifting the ball awkwardly up over the keeper and into the upper left corner of the net.
WHAT'S NEXT:
DU (2-0-4, 0-0-0 Summit) concludes its three-match homestand when it welcomes Colgate to University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Thursday, September 7, at 7 p.m. MT.
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