BERKELEY, Calif. – The [RV/15] University of Denver men's soccer team got goals on either side of halftime from Keegan Kelly and Ian Smith to defeat California 2-1 in both teams' season openers on Thursday night at Edwards Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
Denver: Kelly 25' (Bassett), I. Smith 54' (Bassett)
California: Morrison 83'
Significant Stats:
- Freshman Keegan Kelly, who came off the bench in the opening 10 minutes of the match for Holger Olsson, scored the breakthrough in his first NCAA match.
- Kelly's goal marked the first Pioneer goal on their collegiate debut since Ian Smith scored against Gonzaga in the 2022 opener.
- Coming off a First Team All-Summit League campaign a year ago, outside back Ian Smith got on the scoresheet in Thursday's season opener to double Denver's lead early in the second half.
- The goal is the fifth of the redshirt junior's career.
- Thursday's goal was his first since October 19, 2022
- MAC Hermann Watch List honoree Sam Bassett assisted on Denver's first two goals of the season.
- Bassett's assists give him 45 career points to move him to move him into eighth on Denver's Division I career list.
- Bassett's 15th career assist moves him into a tie with Jarod Stigall, Colin Audley and Karsten Hanlin for seventh on Denver's DI list.
- Denver, who outscored teams 23-9 in the first half last season, is 133-10-17 when scoring first since Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks joined the staff as an assistant in 2012.
- Thursday night's win is Denver's ninth against a power conference team since Franks took over as head coach in 2015.
- Denver improved to 12-13-2 in season openers in its Division I history, including 3-6-1 on the road and 5-7-2 in openers decided by a goal or less.
First Half:
4' The first shot of the season came off the head of Oje Ofunrein, but he couldn't quite get his head completely around the ball and it flew wide of the near post.
8' Keegan Kelly comes on for his collegiate debut, Denver's first of the new six windows a team can sub in.
25' Off the first corner kick of the season, Sam Bassett picked out Kelly's near-post run and the header beat the keeper to the near post to open the Pioneers account this season.
29' Ben Smith had Denver's best chance at doubling its advantage in the first half, but the midfielder's shot missed to the right of the frame.
44' Adrian Guzman had Cal's best chance of the opening 45 minutes, having the ball fed back to him at the top of the box, but his shot was up and over Isaac Nehme's goal.
Denver went into the interval with a 5-3 edge in shots and the Kelly header was the only shot on target of the eight total in the opening 45 minutes.
Second Half:
54' Denver did double its lead in the opening 10 minutes of the season half. An Ian Smith cross from the left was partially cleared by the Cal defense to start the scoring chance. Dylan Akau got to the clearance first and played a ball in the box that eventually fell to the feet of Bassett. The Denver senior laid it off to Smith, who fired hard and low across the frame to make it 2-0 Pioneers.
60' Bassett had the first attempt for Denver to make it three, but Akau's pull back to the top of the box rolled up Bassett's foot and the shot flew over the crossbar.
73' Ben Smith got his second shot of the night off as Denver continued to look for a third, but his attempt from outside the box was right at the keeper.
80' Cal's first shot of the half came in the final 10 minutes, but Denver's defense did well to close down the angle and Rohan McEligot's shot finished left of the target and out for a goal kick.
83' Cal got on the board on the third shot of a sequence to cut the Denver lead in half. Isaiah Thomas started the sequence, but had his shot blocked in-front. Beau Morrison got on the end of the rebound but his shot struck the chest of Nehme and bounced out wide. Morrison then crossed it across the frame and it hit off the feet of a Denver defender at the far post and rolled into the back of the net.
UP NEXT:
The Pioneers will wrap-up their opening weekend California trip on Sunday when the Pioneers travel to [5/4] Stanford. Kickoff at Cagan Stadium is set for 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT on ACC Network Xtra. Denver opens its home schedule on September 14 against Yale.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets for the 2024 season are on sale now and can be purchased here. Denver opens its home schedule on September 14 against Yale, a 7 p.m. MT kickoff.
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