DENVER – The University of Denver women's soccer team (3-0-4, 0-0-0 Summit) posted its biggest offensive showing in two years in a 6-0 shutout of Colgate on Thursday night at University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
 
Five different DU student-athletes netted at least one goal on the night, led by junior Ella Frost's first career brace with a converted penalty shot – Denver's first of two on the night – followed by another goal 11 minutes later.
 
Freshman Liv Moritz scored her third of the year to open the scoring with what would be the game winner – the first of her career. Junior Samantha Dreiling scored her first career goal early in the second half before graduate student Camryn MacMillan posted her second of the season three minutes afterward.
 
The heartwarming highlight of the night came in the 73^rd minute when graduate student Sydney Sharp entered the field for the first time since November 6, 2021, after sustaining a season-ending injury before the 2022 season began. When Denver earned its second penalty shot of the night, it was Sharp who was called to line and converted to give DU its 6-0 lead.
 
COACH'S NOTES:
From head coach Julianne Sitch: "I think in the first half, we didn't come out as strong as we have in recent games, and we just talked about that going into halftime…I don't think we came out on the front foot. I think we were a little reactionary. I think we came out and made a huge adjustment and had some opportunities in the beginning of the (second) half.
 
"Last week, we had seven different goal scorers for our seven goals on the weekend. And tonight, we had five different goal scorers and eight different people involved in the goals, and that's phenomenal. We talk about how it takes a team to make things happen and how it takes a team to be successful."
 
SIGNIFICANT STATS:

• This was the 19^th time in its Division I history that Denver has scored at least six goals in a match and its first time since a 6-0 win at North Dakota on October 24, 2021.
• Before Thursday night, Denver had only once converted two penalty shots in the same match: August 29, 2004, both by Maggie Kirchhoff.
• Also for the 19^th time in its Division I history, Denver twice scored consecutive goals fewer than five minutes apart in the same match:
  • Sharp's converted penalty shot (85:17) was only 2:24 after Frost's second goal of the night (82:53).
  • MacMillan's goal (61:38) was 3:12 after Dreiling's goal (58:26).
• Freshman keeper Molly Wissman made two saves on the way to the second cleansheet of her young career and her first in a DU win.
• For the fifth time in the last six matches, Denver outshot its opponent by double digits, this time holding a 20-6 margin.

FIRST HALF:
15' | Junior Riley Baker sent a cross in from the right side of the box, meeting Moritz on the opposite post, who curled it in around the keeper.
 
34' | Junior Kiera Flanagan followed Baker's lead with her own cross from the right. DU couldn't get an initial shot off, but Frost eventually collected the ball but sent it high.
 
43' | Senior McKenna Dannenhauer broke free of the Colgate defense, collecting a feed from senior Jordan Crockett but sent her shot straight at the Raiders' keeper. Seconds later, sophomore Lily O'Grady had her own look at the net but sent it too high.
 
SECOND HALF:
47' | Moritz nearly had her second of the match but bounced her shot off the inside of the far right post.
 
55' | Graduate student Kaitlyn Glover also clipped the woodwork, rocketing a shot off the crossbar.
 
59' | After juggling around three defender, MacMillan clipped a shot off the Colgate keeper's hands, but Dreiling was there to clean up and finish the job in the center of the box.
 
62' | MacMillan sent home her first touch off a cross from senior Vanessa Murray, sneaking it between the left post and a diving Colgate keeper.
 
72' | Frost was tripped at the very corner of the penalty area. After the foul was confirmed by video review, Frost stepped to the line and sent the keeper the wrong direction as she converted her penalty shot.
 
83' | Flanagan dodged a Colgate defender as she approached the left edge of the box, kicked the ball back toward an approaching Frost, who immediately redirected the ball across her body and into the far corner.
 
86' | Colgate was called for a handball inside the 18-yard box to give DU its second penalty shot of the night. Sharp stepped to the line and bounced her shot off the underside of the crossbar and across the line.
 
90' | Junior Blythe Sales nearly added a seventh goal for Denver, catching up with a bouncing ball near the DU sideline but sending it into the outside of the net.
 
WHAT'S NEXT:
DU (3-0-4, 0-0-0 Summit) finishes the weekend with its first of two straight matches against Power-5 opponents when it travels to Oregon on Sunday, August 10, at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT.
 
Denver's Home for College Sports
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Women's Soccer on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_WSoccer on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @DU_WSoccer on Instagram