DENVER – The University of Denver women's soccer team (9-4-4, 6-1-1 Summit) secured its ninth overall Summit League regular-season title with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over South Dakota in the Pioneers final match of the 2025 regular season on Sunday.
 
The teams entered halftime in a scoreless tie before South Dakota's Morgan Sullivan found the opening goal in the 73^rd minute. Denver continued its persistent press and saw it pay off with an equalizer off a corner kick in the 83^rd minute from senior Brooke Ahern. Less than three minutes later, redshirt junior Hannah Tate withstood pressure from a defender to push the ball past the keeper and will it across the line, giving her the game winner in the 86^th minute.
 
In what was the final Summit League match of the season, Denver's win moved the Pioneers into a tie atop the league standings with Oral Roberts, each team finishing with 19 points.
 
SIGNIFICANT STATS:                                 

• Denver has now won nine total regular-season Summit League titles and seven in the last eight years.
• DU's two goals were scored 2:53 apart, making them the 56^th quickest consecutive goals in Denver's Division I history.
• Ahern's goal was her fourth on the year, and all four have been equalizers.
  • With her assist on Tate's goal, she also logged a goal and an assist in a single game for the first time in her career.
  • She is now tied for the DU lead in goals scored this season.
• Tate scored her second goal of the year, both game winners to bookend the Summit League schedule.
  • Her goal was also Denver's of the season scored in the last five minutes of play.
• Senior Isabella Chidiac had the assist on Ahern's goal, giving the senior nine helpers on the year to tie her for the most in the Summit League and moving her into a tie for eighth most in the nation at the Division I level.
  • She also moved into the solo team lead for points on the year with 11.
• Senior Lily O'Grady 's assist on Tate's goal was her second of the season and gave her at least one point in each of the last two matches.
• All seven of the points earned by Pioneers were tallied by seniors on Senior Day.
• With starting goalkeeper Alina Santos called up to the New Zealand national team, junior Molly Wissman saw her first minutes of the year in goal, making her 32^nd career start.
• DU's 6-1-1 Summit League record is the best under head coach Julianne Sitch thus far.

FIRST HALF:
9' | Ahern drew a foul just yards beyond the penalty area, setting up an O'Grady service toward the near post. Tate found the ball but redirected it wide.
 
19' | A Chidiac feed found Ahern behind the South Dakota backline inside the 18-yard box, but Ahern's shot slid wide right.
 
24' | Chidiac again found Ahern on a corner kick, who redirected the ball nicely toward net, but the USD keeper made a great punching save to clear it away.
 
SECOND HALF:
62' | Redshirt sophomore Nora Zeleazny found Chidiac at the back post from 25 yards away, who headed the ball back toward net. Redshirt freshman Kit Mooney was there to push the ball toward net and forced a quality save from the keeper.
 
70' | Redshirt freshman Rowan LaPiano started a run down the left side and finished it with a nice feed into the box, but the USD keeper was able to beat redshirt sophomore Kera Nguyen to it by a split second.
 
73' | USD's Morgan Sullivan found the opening goal after receiving the ball from Sadi Strait following a cross into the box from Rylee Haldeman.
 
81' | From a corner kick, redshirt junior Emma Thielbahr sent a header toward the goal but sent it wide of the frame.
 
83' | On DU's fifth corner of the day, Chidiac sent an arching ball toward the far post, which Ahern was able to head across the line.
 
86' | From deep in Denver's half, O'Grady sent the ball up across midfield. Ahern jumped up to head the ball further up the pitch and found Tate, who pushed the ball past the keeper and eventually across the line, despite having her jersey pulled on the approach and falling at the time she released the ball.
 
WHAT'S NEXT:
The University of Denver women's soccer team has secured the No. 2 seed for the 2025 Summit League Women's Soccer Championship, coming with it a bye through next week's quarterfinals.
 
DU will await the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 3-seeded South Dakota State versus the No. 6-seeded Omaha in the semifinals, to be hosted by SDSU on November 1. Denver's semifinal match is set for Thursday, November 6.