WASHINGTON D.C. – The University of Denver men's soccer program erased a [14/20] Georgetown opener less than a minute later and then got a 90th minute winner from Luke Schultz in a 2-1 win for the Pioneers on Tuesday night at Shaw Field.
Scoring Summary:
Denver: Wright 19' (Schultz), Schultz 90'
Georgetown: Zengue 18' (pen)
Notes:
- With the win, Denver improved to 2-0-1 all-time against Georgetown, while earning its first win in the series in the nation's capital.
- The game-winner with 16 seconds on the clock is tied for the fourth-latest goal in regulation in program history and is the latest game-winner by a Pioneer in regulation in DU's DI era.
- Denver improved to 27-46-16 in its Division I history against opponents in the United Soccer Coaches' Top-25, including 13-27-10 on the road.
- Under 11th-year head coach Jamie Franks, Denver is now 18-20-9 against ranked opponents, including 9-13-5 on the road.
- Tuesday night's win was Denver's first against a top-25 team since beating UMass in the 2024 NCAA Quarterfinal.
- It was also Denver's first win from a losing position since September 14, 2024 vs. Yale (DU won 4-1).
- Five-year Pioneer Gabe Schwartz, who made his collegiate debut in relief of Isaac Nehme on Saturday at UMass, made his first career start on Tuesday night at No. 14 Georgetown.
- Sophomore forward Keegan Kelly made his return to the Crimson and Gold on Tuesday after playing three matches in Chile for New Zealand at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Kelly came on as a substitute in the 28th minute.
- Georgetown entered the match 14th in the coaches poll, and will end the night 20th in the RPI, while the Pios bumped up to 37th in the RPI.
- Tuesday night's nationally-televised clash was between two of the top six programs in the country since 2015. Georgetown entered with a record of 139-42-30, while Denver was 129-45-33 entering Tuesday.
- Denver conceded its fourth penalty kick of the season to open the scoring for the home-side Hoyas.
- Trevor Wright canceled out the Hoyas' opener with his second goal of the season, and the ninth of his career.
- Wright's goal came just 55 seconds after the Georgetown penalty.
- Luke Schultz provided the corner kick service on the Wright equalizer, his fourth assist of the season and of his career.
- Denver's two goals were its fifth and sixth off of set pieces this year, its third directly off a corner and its first off a free kick.
- Schultz scored his second goal of the season for the game-winner, and the second of his career. With his three-point night, Schultz now has eight points on the season.
- Schultz game-winner was Denver's first in the final five minutes of a game since August 28, 2022 at Grand Canyon when Ian Smith scored in the 86th.
First Half:
5' Zach Zengue took the first shot of the evening for the Hoyas, but the Pios defense blocked the shot in-front, and Denver was able to clear its lines.
18' Georgetown was awarded a penalty after Kyle McGowan tripped an attacking Hoyas player in the area. Originally the foul was not whistled, but after a quick review the referee pointed to the spot. Zach Zengue sent Gabe Schwartz the wrong way for the finish.
19' Luke Schultz took Denver's first corner kick of the night to the floating back post run of Trevor Wright, who headed it back where it came from to the far corner to finish his second of the year.
31' Minutes after coming on for the first time since the FIFA U-20 World Cup,
Keegan Kelly took Denver's second shot on goal, and the first shot on target by either team in the run of play in the match, but it was saved by the Hoyas keeper to keep things level at 1-1.
43' Georgetown's best attacking opportunity of the half came off a counter from Denver's second corner of the night, but
Aidan Semelsberger blocked Charles Rosenthal's shot and the Pioneers cleared.
Second Half:
69' Denver's best chance of the opening 25 minutes of the second half was from a long throw-in from the bench side, but Holger Olsson couldn't get up to the second header to put it on goal, and it went out for a Georgetown goal kick.
75' A bouncing ball fell to the feet of Kelly, who fired a rocket that would have been on frame, but it was blocked by a Georgetown defender in-front, and cleared to the midline.
76' A result of the clearance, Kelly chased the ball to the midfield line, where he fouled on the counter attempt. Max Viera from the Hoyas was sent off for his violent conduct retaliation and the home side went down to 10 men.
83' Kyle McGowan took Denver's first shot with the man advantage, but the 25-yard effort was always rising over the bar.
90' With Denver pressing for the winner, a free kick was awarded for the Pioneers in the final 20 seconds. Schultz played the free kick in a dangerous position to the leaping head of Grant Lund. The free kick was just over the head of the Denver center back, but the goalkeeper couldn't get to the original service, and it bounced into the back of the net for the Pioneers game-winner.
Up Next:
Denver will return home for a Saturday afternoon date with Summit League leaders Delaware. Opening kickoff is set for 3 p.m. MT at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium, and the match will be streamed live on the Summit League Network.
Ticket Information:
Tickets are on sale now for the 2025 Denver men's soccer season. Purchase tickets for the rest of the 2025 campaign here.
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