DENVER – The No. 4/3 University of Denver men's soccer program will raise the curtain on the 2025 season on Thursday night when the Pioneers welcome (rv/nr) Washington to DU Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast live on the Summit League Network.
DENVER VS. WASHINGTON SERIES HISTORY:
Denver and Washington have split the first nine meetings between the two programs in DU's DI era at 3-3-3. The Pioneers are 2-2-1 at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium with the two victories coming in August of 2018 and in the 2016 NCAA Round of 16. Last season's match in Seattle finished 2-2. Sam Bassett and Oje Ofunrein scored Denver's two goals in the draw.
2025 REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
- Jamie Franks has put his program up against the best once again with his 2025 schedule that was announced in July.
- Denver's opponents combined for a 173-99-73 record a year ago, and had an RPI average of 54.5.
- The Pios play 10 NCAA Tournament teams from last season, including six that got to at least the third round and a pair of NCAA Quarterfinal opponents in Pittsburgh and UMass.
- Nine of Denver's opponents appeared in the United Soccer Coaches' Preseason Poll.
- In the regular season, Denver will 15 opponents that finished in last season's RPI in the Top-100 (three more than last season), eight from the Top-50 (one less than 2024) and five in the Top-20 (one more).
- Denver's 2025 results against teams that finished 2024 in the top-100.
August 21 vs. [28] Washington
August 24 at [11] Stanford
August 28 vs. [20] San Diego
August 31 vs. [62] SIUE
September 5 at [55] Creighton
September 19 at [81] Portland
September 22 at [52] Seattle
September 27 vs. [24] Kansas City
October 4 at [23] UMass
October 7 at [3] Georgetown
October 11 vs. [99] Delaware
October 14 at [4] Pittsburgh
October 19 at [14] Virginia
October 25 at [79] Omaha
November 1 vs. [59] Oral Roberts
TOP-10 SINCE 2015
- Denver is 124-39-33 since the start of the 2015 season.
- That record is good for sixth in the country in wins during that span, behind Wake Forest (152), Indiana (141), Clemson (141), Georgetown (133), Stanford (126).
- Of the 27 teams that had at least 100 wins in that span entering the year, Denver has the fifth-fewest losses at 39.
- Six of Denver's opponents are among the 27 that began the year with 100 wins since the start of the 2015 season.
THE FRANKS FOUNDATION
- Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks is in his 11th season as the bench boss and his 14th 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 124-39-33 in his time as a head coach, 159-56-41 in his time at Denver overall and 258-83-58 in his time as a player and a coach in college soccer.
- Franks is 9-8-2 in the NCAA Tournament at DU (9-7-1 as HC). As a player and coach, Franks is 25-12-4 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 10 seasons, Denver qualified for the NCAA Tournament nine times and received a bye into the second round four times. Denver has played in the second round now seven times.
- Franks won the national championship as a player with Wake Forest in 2007 in Cary, defeating Ohio State 2-1 in the final.
- Franks made his sixth College Cup appearance combined as a player and coach last season.
DENVER AND THE NEW POWER 4
- Five matches on Denver's season-opening six-match road swing were against the Power-4 in 2024, with the other coming against the deep BIG EAST Conference (Creighton).
- Denver's most wins against the power conferences came in 2016 when the Pios won four against members of the premier conferences. DU has had multiple wins in three seasons, winning three times against the P4 in 2024 and twice in 2022.
- The Pioneers 2-1 win over Cal and 1-0 win over No. 5 Stanford in the season opening weekend last season were Denver's ninth and 10th P4 wins, and its 11th under Franks came against [14] Indiana in the NCAA Round of 16.
- In the second year of the new Power-4, the Pios will battle four P4 teams in the regular season in 2025.
WORK IN THE CLASSROOM
- Denver has recorded the top grade point average in the country among Division I men's soccer programs in five of the last nine years.
- The Pioneers have finished in the top-15 in the country in GPA in all 10 years in Jamie Franks' head coaching tenure.
- Team Grade Point Average
2024-25: 3.59 (13th nationally)
2023-24: 3.62 (5th)
2022-23: 3.65 (3rd)
2021-22: 3.64 (2nd)
2020-21: 3.77 (1st)
2019-20: 3.74 (1st)
2018-19: 3.68 (2nd – 0.02 behind Lipscomb)
2017-18: 3.628 (1st)
2016-17: 3.619 (1st)
2015-16: 3.49 (1st)
- Denver has had 11 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors in their Division I history, including first-team selections Christian Bowers (2004), Michael Perry (2010), Graham Smith (2017), Andre Shinyashiki (2018) and Jason Belloli (2023).
RETURNING CAST
- Denver returns 11 players that started at least one game a year ago, including five that started at least 15 matches in 2024. A year ago, Denver's returners made 211 appearances and 122 starts.
- Entering 2025, Denver's returning cast combined to make 536 career appearances and 316 starts.
- Four players entered the season with at least 59 matches played, and 10 made at least 30 career appearances before this season.
- Coming into the campaign, four Pioneers had made at least 40 career starts for Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men's Soccer Coach Jamie Franks side.
NEW FACES
- Jamie Franks signed nine freshmen to the 2025 roster who are joined by three redshirt-freshmen from last year to give the Pioneers 12 players with four years of eligibility remaining.
- The true-freshmen class is made up of two players from Colorado, two from Oregon, and one from California, Illinois, Texas and Washington, and an international student-athlete from Norway.
FOUR FIFTH YEARS RETURN
- The Pioneers have four student-athletes playing in their fifth year of college soccer.
- Trevor Wright, who redshirted due to injury in 2023, returns to the center of Franks' defense for the Crimson and Gold in 2025. Wright has played and started 63 matches heading into his final season of college soccer, scoring seven goals and tallying four assists in his first four years with the program.
- Jake Smith redshirted to develop in his freshman campaign of 2021, and has since made 59 appearances and 54 starts in Denver's defensive midfield. Smith had three assists last year for the first points of his career.
- Aidan Semelsberger redshirted in his freshman year of 2021 and did not play in 2022 before combining to make 38 appearances and 14 starts in the Denver midfield in the last two seasons.
- Reserve goalkeeper Gabe Schwartz is in his fifth season with the program after redshirting in 2021.
Up Next:
Following Thursday's match, Denver will head west to travel to No. 13 Stanford on Sunday night. Opening kick is set for 8 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast on ACC Network Xtra.
Tickets:
Tickets are on sale now for the 2025 Denver men's soccer season. Purchase tickets for the home opener and the rest of the 2025 campaign here.
Summit League Network:
Denver men's soccer will have its games streamed on the Summit League Network and the Midco Sports App 11 times during the 2025 campaign. Subscribe to the league streaming service today.
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