DENVER – The [6/1] University of Denver men's soccer program will close out its non-conference slate on Monday night when the Pioneers travel to [1/3] Pittsburgh for a battle of number ones at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Kickoff on ACC Network is set for 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT.  

SERIES HISTORY:
Pittsburgh holds a 2-0-1 edge in the series with all three previous meetings taking place in Pennsylvania. The Pioneers lone result in the series came in October, 2022, a 2-2 draw. FULL SERIES

LAST TIME OUT:
The Pioneers improved to 2-0-0 in Summit League play with a 5-0 win over St. Thomas on Saturday afternoon at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Tyler Schommer scored twice and had an assist to lead the Pioneers offense. Ian Smith tied a school record with three assists, all primary helpers. Sam Bassett also had three goal contributions with a goal and two assists in the big win for Denver to go to the top of the table with six matches left to play. FULL RECAP

DENVER STANDS AT THE TOP 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 its spot on Sept. 23 and Sept. 30.
• 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 116-36-32 since the start of the 2015 season.
• That record are tied for seventh in the country in wins during that span, behind Wake Forest (145), Indiana (134), Clemson (132), Georgetown (127), Stanford (125), New Hampshire (118) and Washington (116) (thru 10/5).
• Of the 16 teams that had at least 100 wins in that span entering the year, Denver has the fifth-fewest losses at 36.

2024 SCHEDULE

• Returning 20 letterwinners and 10 starters from a year ago, head coach Jamie Franks put his program up against the best once again with his 2024 schedule that was announced in June.
• In the regular season, Denver will play 11 opponents that finished in last season's RPI Top-100 (5-0-4), nine from the Top-50 (4-0-4) and four in the Top-20 (1-0-3). 
• Eight of Denver's first nine matches are against teams that finished in the top-40 last season (4-0-4).

                                August 22 at [40] California - W, 2-1

                                August 25 at [8] Stanford - W, 1-0

                                August 29 at [35] Washington - T, 2-2

                                September 1 at [11] SMU - T, 2-2

                                September 9 at [20] UCLA - T, 0-0

                                September 14 vs. [29] Yale - W, 4-1

                                September 19 vs. [16] Portland - T, 0-0

                                September 22 vs. [33] Seattle - W, 2-1

                                October 2 vs. [69] Oral Roberts - W, 3-2

                                October 7 at [38] Pittsburgh

                                November 2 at [69] Oral Roberts

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 11 matches of the season, Bassett has 20 points on six goals and eight assists.
• Bassett has been involved in 12 of Denver's last 17 goals.
• Bassett enters the match tied for fourth in career goals (20), third in career assists (19) and third in career points (59).

GET ON THE BOARD FIRST

• Denver is 138-10-18 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 104-8-12 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: 6-0-1

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 116-36-32 in his time as a head coach, 151-53-40 in his time at Denver overall and 250-80-57 in his time as a player and a coach in college soccer.
• Franks and the Pioneers are 46-5-8 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 fly back home on Tuesday morning before heading to Kansas City at the weekend, its first of six-straight Summit League matches to end the regular season. 

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

DENVER'S HOME FOR COLLEGE SPORTS
Visit DenverPioneers.com for complete coverage of all 18 of Denver's NCAA Division I sports.
Like Denver Pioneers and Denver Men's Soccer on Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneers and @DU_MSoccer on Twitter
Follow @denverpioneers and @denversoccer on Instagram