DENVER – The [12/7] University of Denver men's soccer program will open the second half of Summit League play on Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers travel to St. Thomas. Opening kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT/12 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast on the Summit League Network.
SERIES HISTORY:
Denver holds a 4-0-1 record against the Tommies, including 1-0-1 in St. Paul. Denver won the first meeting earlier this month by a count of 5-0. Denver has one three-straight by a combined scoreline of 12-0. The one draw in the series was a 0-0 score in Minnesota in October, 2022. FULL SERIES HISTORY
LAST TIME OUT:
On the heels of the program's first two losses of the season, Denver showed urgency in its match last Wednesday, scoring twice in the first half in a 2-0 win over Omaha to complete the first half of the league calendar. Sam Bassett scored his team-high seventh goal of the season and Kyle McGowan scored his first of the year in the victory. FULL RECAP
SUMMIT LEAGUE TABLE:
Denver has a game in hand on the rest of the Summit League with all other teams starting their first half of Summit League play last Saturday. The Pioneers and Oral Roberts are both on nine points, a point behind Kansas City for the top spot in the league.
TOP DRAWER SOCCER MID-SEASON TOP-100 PLAYER RANKINGS:
- Denver had six student-athletes recognized on the 2024 Top Drawer Soccer.com Top-100 midseason player rankings, the publication announced October 17.
- Sam Bassett was the No. 1 rated player in the country.
- Trevor Wright (27), Ben Smith (33), Ian Smith (57), Isaac Nehme (60) and Oje Ofunrein (75) were all also ranked in the top-100.
- Denver is tied with North Carolina for the most players from a single team in the top-100 (6).
DENVER REMAINS IN TOP-10 OF TOP DRAWER SOCCER POLL
- Denver moved up to No. 1 in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll on September 16, 2024, its second time as the top team in the country in program history. DU kept the top spot for four-straight weeks before losses to Pitt and Kansas City.
- The Pioneers have kept a spot in the top-10 of the Top Drawer Soccer Top-25 for nine-straight weeks.
- On October 8, 2018, Denver was the No. 1 team in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll, its first and only No. 1 ranking to date in program history.
- Prior to October, 2018, Denver had been as high as No. 3 to end the College Cup run in 2016.
TOP-10 SINCE 2015
- Denver is 117-38-32 since the start of the 2015 season.
- That record is eighth in the country in wins during that span, behind Wake Forest (147), Indiana (138), Clemson (134), Georgetown (129), Stanford (125), New Hampshire (120) and Washington (118) (thru 10/21).
- Of the 16 teams that had at least 100 wins in that span entering the year, Denver has the fifth-fewest losses at 38.
MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST:
- Senior attacking midfielder Sam Bassett was named to the 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List on August 22.
- Bassett had career highs in goals (8), assists (7) and points (23) in his 2023 All-American season.
- Through the first 14 matches of the season, Bassett has 23 points on seven goals and nine assists.
- Bassett was named the No. 1 player in the country in the Top Drawer Soccer.com midseason Top-100 player rankings.
- Bassett enters the match fourth in career goals (22), tied for the record in career assists (22) and second in career points (66) in Denver's Division I history.
GET ON THE BOARD FIRST:
- Denver is 139-10-18 when scoring first since head coach Jamie Franks joined the staff as an assistant in 2012.
- Since Franks took over as the head coach in 2015, the Pioneers are 105-8-12 when scoring first.
- 2015: 14-0-1|2016: 18-0-0|2017: 8-1-0 | 2018: 13-0-1 | 2019: 6-5-1 | 2020: 5-0-0 | 2021: 9-0-3 | 2022: 14-1-2 | 2023: 11-1-3 | 2024: 7-0-1
THE FRANKS FOUNDATION:
- Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks is in his 10th season as the bench boss and his 13th with the program overall in 2024.
- Franks and his staff were named the 2016 National Coaching Staff of the Year after taking Denver to its first College Cup appearance.
- Franks is 117-38-32 in his time as a head coach, 152-55-40 in his time at Denver overall and 251-82-57 in his time as a player and a coach in college soccer.
- Franks and the Pioneers are 47-6-8 in the Summit League since he took over as head coach in 2015.
- Franks is 6-8-1 in the NCAA Tournament at DU (6-7-0 as HC). As a player and coach, Franks is 22-12-3 in the NCAAs.
- In addition to National Coaching Staff of the Year, Franks is a five-time Summit League Coach of the Year (2015-18, 2023).
- Franks was the youngest head coach in Division I soccer when he was hired in 2015, and the second youngest in 2016 when he took the program to the College Cup.
- Franks led the Pioneers to back-to-back unbeaten regular seasons in his first two years in charge, the first program to go unbeaten in back-to-back regular seasons since Clemson in 1977-78.
- In his first nine seasons, Denver has qualified for the NCAA Tournament eight times and received a bye into the second round three times. Denver has played in the second round six times.
UP NEXT:
The Pioneers will look to avenge one of their two regular season losses next Wednesday when Denver welcomes Kansas City to the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT on the Summit League Network. Denver will honor 11 seniors following the match.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets for the 2024 season are on sale now and can be purchased here.
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