DENVER – The [9/4] University of Denver men's soccer program will play its penultimate game of the regular season on Saturday when the Pioneers travel to Tulsa to take on Oral Roberts. Kickoff on the Summit League Network is set for 3 p.m. CT/2 p.m. MT.
With a win on Saturday, Denver would clinch the outright regular season title and would earn the right to host the Summit League Championship match on November 16. A draw would clinch at least a share of the league regular season title and the Pios would punch their ticket for the championship, but hosting would still not be finalized. An Oral Roberts win on Saturday would bring the two teams level on points with one match remaining.
SERIES HISTORY:
Denver holds a 15-3-2 record in the series against the Golden Eagles, winning the last two and unbeaten in the last six matches between the two programs. The Pioneers won 3-2 on October 2 at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium, getting a pair of set piece goals from Ronan Wynne and Trevor Wright and the eventual game-winner from Oje Ofunrein. FULL HISTORY
LAST TIME OUT:
On Senior Night, Ben Smith had an assist on the opener and scored the game-winner in the Pios 2-1 victory over Kansas City on Wednesday night. Classmate Sam Bassett broke the program's DI career assists record with his 23rd helper. FULL RECAP
DOUBLE DIGIT WIN SEASONS
- Denver recorded its 10th win of the season on October 30 against Kansas City.
- The double-digit win season in 2024 is the Pios fourth-straight and the 16th in their DI history.
- DU's record for wins in a season is 20, set in the 2016 College Cup campaign.
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.
- 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 119-38-32 since the start of the 2015 season.
- That record is tied for seventh in the country in wins during that span, behind Wake Forest (147), Indiana (140), Clemson (137), Georgetown (130), Stanford (125), New Hampshire (121) and tied with Washington (119) (thru 10/30).
- 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 16 matches of the season, Bassett has 24 points on seven goals and 10 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), has the record in career assists (23) and is second in career points (67) 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 119-38-32 in his time as a head coach, 154-55-40 in his time at Denver overall and 253-82-57 in his time as a player and a coach in college soccer.
- Franks and the Pioneers are 49-6-8 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 will close out the 2024 regular season on Saturday, November 9, when the Pioneers head to Omaha. Simultaneously kickoffs across the entire league are set for Saturday, November 9 at 1 p.m. CT/12 p.m. MT.
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