DENVER – The University of Denver women's soccer team concluded its 2025 preseason with two home exhibition matches on August 7 and 10.
 
The Pioneers began the weekend with a 0-4 loss to No. 25-ranked Texas Tech on Thursday, August 7, before ending in a scoreless draw against Northern Colorado on Sunday, August 10.
 
Play against UNC was suspended in the 84^th minute due to lightning.
 
SIGNIFICANT STATS

• In total, 23 Pioneers of the 26 on the roster saw playing time across the two matches:
  • Redshirt junior Emma Thielbahr led all DU players with 156 minutes played including the full 90 against Texas Tech.
    • Freshman Annie Philbin was on track to play the full 90 against Northern Colorado but finished with 84 minutes after the match was suspended early.
  • All three of DU's goalkeepers saw action. Junior Molly Wissman and redshirt junior Alina Santos split halves against Texas Tech while freshman Lucy Garnsey played the first 80 minutes against Northern Colorado before an injury took her off the pitch for the final four minutes
  • Freshmen Avery Baker, Kacey Harvey, Olivia Kroska, Lilly Lund and Philbin all saw minutes.
  • Redshirt freshmen Grace Dreiling, Rowan LaPiano and Kit Mooney also made their first fall appearances for DU after not playing last season.
• Redshirt sophomore Shay Payne led the team with two shot attempts including one on target against TTU.
• Lund and redshirt sophomore Kera Nguyen also logged shots on goal between the two matches.
• Wissman led the three keepers with four total saves in her 49 minutes played.

TEXAS TECH KEY MOMENTS
23' | Texas Tech earned a penalty kick after a foul inside the 18-yard box. TTU's Macy Blackburn pulled the ball left and saw it ricochet off the outside of the post and out of play to keep the match scoreless.
35' | The Red Raiders took a 1-0 lead following their second corner kick of the match, taking it short and then seeing Emma Torres arc the ball into the far upper corner of the net and out of reach of Wissman.
55' | Off a cross sent in from near the endline, TTU's Sophie Neves lightly deflected the ball into the back of the net to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
70' | Texas Tech scored once more off a corner kick with Kaitlyn Giametta heading home the service.
78' | TTU's Taylor Zdrojewski took a look from 25 yard back and pushed the ball just under the crossbar and out of range from Santos for the match's final goal.

NORTHERN COLORADO KEY MOMENTS
14' | Baker took a look from 20 yards out and nearly tucked the ball into the net but saw her shot kiss the crossbar instead.
22' | The Bears earned their second corner of the day and placed the ball into the box, but the scramble between both teams was ultimately cleared out by the Pioneers.
49' | Kroska had a look at the right post from inside the 18-yard box but had her shot blocked.
80' | After a collision inside the penalty area, Wissman came on as an injury substitution for Garnsey.
84' | With 6:26 remaining on the clock, play was suspended due to lightning in the area. Both teams agreed not to resume play.

WHAT'S NEXT
Denver officially begins its 2025 season with two trips to Colorado Springs, Colo., starting with the season opener at Air Force on Thursday, August 14, before visiting Colorado College on Sunday, August 17.

TICKETS
Tickets for the 2025 season are now on sale, starting at $69, and are available for purchase online, by calling 303-871-4625 or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.