DENVER – The [12/4] University of Denver men's soccer program will play its final home match of the regular season on Wednesday night when the Pioneers welcome league-leaders Kansas City to the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Kickoff on the Summit League network is set for 6 p.m. MT. Denver trails Kansas City by one point in the table, but does have a game in hand that the Pioneers will play on Saturday at Oral Roberts.

SERIES HISTORY:
Denver holds a 9-3-4 advantage in the series history, but it was the Roos that beat the Pios 1-0 in Missouri on October 12. Prior to the match earlier this month, Denver was unbeaten in nine-consecutive matches in the series, dating back to the first meeting in more than 11 years in 2020. Denver is 4-2-1 at home against the Roos, with the last Kansas City win in Denver coming in 2009. FULL HISTORY

LAST TIME OUT:
Denver got two goals on either side of halftime, including a first-career brace for Summit League Peak Performer of the Week Bryce Willoughby to lead the Pioneers to a 4-0 win at St. Thomas last Saturday. The Tommies, who were coming off their first win over a ranked team in a victory at Kansas City, were held to just one shot, and no shots on target in the 90 minutes. FULL RECAP 

LIMITING CHANCES

• Denver has held opponents to two shots or less 13 times in its DI era.
• The Pioneers have held opponents without a shot on goal 23 times in their Division I history, including three times during the 2023 season.
• Denver held St. Thomas to just one shot, and no shots on goal in the match in Minnesota on Oct. 26.
• In the 2024 season opener, Denver didn't allow Cal to put a shot on target until right before the 83rd minute Bears goal.
• In Denver's win over No. 5 Stanford on August 25, Denver didn't allow a shot on target in the final 71 minutes of the match. 

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 10-straight weeks.
• Denver returned to the top-5 this week for the first time since the back-to-back losses at the beginning of the month.
• 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 118-38-32 since the start of the 2015 season.
• That record is eighth in the country in wins during that span, behind Wake Forest (147), Indiana (139), Clemson (136), Georgetown (130), Stanford (125), New Hampshire (121) and Washington (119) (thru 10/27).
• 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 15 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 140-10-18 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 106-8-12 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: 8-0-1

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 118-38-32 in his time as a head coach, 153-55-40 in his time at Denver overall and 252-82-57 in his time as a player and a coach in college soccer.
• Franks and the Pioneers are 48-6-8 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:
Denver and Oral Roberts will play their game in hand on Kansas City on Saturday night in Tulsa when the Pioneers look to complete the regular season sweep over the Golden Eagles. Denver won the first meeting 3-2 on October 2 at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Kickoff on the Summit League Network is set for 6 p.m. MT. 

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets for the 2024 season are on sale now and can be purchased here.

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