DENVER – The University of Denver men's soccer team will return to the west coast this weekend for matches with a pair of WCC programs, starting with a visit to No. 4/10 Portland on Friday night at Merlo Field. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. MT and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.

DENVER VS. PORTLAND SERIES HISTORY:
Denver holds a 5-2-4 advantage in the series with the Pilots, but haven't defeated Portland since 2021 (0-1-2). The two programs have met every season since the Pios 1-0 win over the Pilots at Merlo in August of 2021. Since then, the two have played to a pair of 0-0 draws where Denver outshot Portland a combined 33-11. Portland beat Denver 4-2 in the last meeting at Merlo in 2023. FULL DI SERIES HISTORY

LAST TIME OUT:
Dylan Akau and Kyle McGowan scored on either side of halftime in a 2-1 win over Mercer on Sunday afternoon at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Denver outshot Mercer 17-10, and had a 9-3 edge in corners in the match. FULL RECAP

SPREADING THE SCORING

• When Dylan Akau scored Denver's 10th goal of the season in the first half of its September 14 match vs. Mercer, the Pioneers had 10 different players score its first 10 goals of the campaign.
• 10 unique goal scorers entered the week (matches thru 9/14) tied for the fourth-most in the country in 2025.
• Boston College leads the country with 12, Lindenwood and Maryland each have 11 and Washington and Utah Valley are tied with Denver with 10.
• Kyle McGowan was the first Pioneer to score twice this season.
• Denver had 14 different goal scorers all of last season.

KELLY CALLED INTO NEW ZEALAND U-20S FOR 2025 WORLD CUP

• Sophomore Keegan Kelly was named to the New Zealand U-20 National Team squad on September 11 for the upcoming 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup set to begin in Chile later this month.
• Denver's match on September 14th vs. Mercer is his final match with the Pioneers before leaving for international duty on September 16.
• New Zealand's group stage matches are Sept. 27 vs. Chile (FS2), Sept. 30 vs. Egypt (Fox Soccer Plus) and Oct. 3 vs. Japan (FS2).
• Kelly scored four goals and had three assists in 21 matches in his freshman season, including goals in back-to-back NCAA Tournament matches against Gardner-Webb and Indiana  - the first Pioneer to score in back-to-back postseason games in program history.
• Kelly joined Kortne Ford, Andre Shinyashiki and Kengo Ohira, and the quartet were later joined by Sam Bassett as the only Pios to score two NCAA Tournament goals in program history.

DENVER AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS

• Denver is 26-45-16 in its Division I history against the USC Top-25, going 13-13-3 at home, 12-26-10 on the road and 1-6-4 neutral.
• Under Jamie Franks, Denver is 17-19-9 against ranked opponents, including 9-5-2 at home, 8-12-5 on the road and 0-2-2 at a neutral site.
• The Pioneers are 11-8-4 against teams receiving votes, including 6-5-2 at home, 4-3-2 on the road and 1-0-0 at a neutral site.
• Denver is 4-12-0 against teams ranked in the top-5 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, including 2-7 in true road games.
• The Pioneers only road win against a top-5 team prior to last season's 1-0 win at No. 5 Stanford came on December 2, 2016 when the fourth-ranked Pioneers beat No. 3 Clemson 1-0 in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
• Denver's last win against a top-5 team prior to last season came in a 3-2 win against No. 3 Washington on August 30, 2018 at DU.

GET ON THE BOARD FIRST

• Denver is 150-11-19 when scoring first since head coach Jamie Franks joined the staff as an assistant in 2012.
• Since Franks took over as the head coach in 2015, the Pioneers are 115-9-13 when scoring first.
• 2015: 14-0-1|2016: 18-0-0|2017: 8-1-0 | 2018: 13-0-1 | 2019: 6-5-1 | 2020: 5-0-0 | 2021: 9-0-3 | 2022: 14-1-2 | 2023: 11-1-3 | 2024: 14-1-2 | 2025: 4-1-0

TOP-10 SINCE 2015

• Denver is 128-42-33 since the start of the 2015 season.
• That record is good for sixth in the country in wins during that span, behind Wake Forest (156), Indiana (146), Clemson (144), Georgetown (136), Stanford (132).
• Of the 27 teams that had at least 100 wins in that span entering the year, Denver has the sixth-fewest losses at 42.
• Six of Denver's opponents are among the 27 that began the year with 100 wins since the start of the 2015 season.

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 14 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 – W, 2-0
                                August 24 at [11] Stanford – L, 1-2
                                August 28 vs. [20] San Diego – L, 2-3
                                August 31 vs. [62] SIUE – W, 2-1
                                September 5 at [55] Creighton – L, 0-2
                                September 19 at [81] Portland
                                September 22 at [52] Seattle4
                                September 27 vs. [24] Kansas City
                                October 4 at [23] UMass
                                October 7 at [3] Georgetown
                                October 14 at [4] Pittsburgh
                                October 19 at [14] Virginia
                                October 25 at [79] Omaha
                                November 1 vs. [59] Oral Roberts

 Up Next:
Denver will close out its road swing on Monday night when the Pioneers visit Seattle. Opening kick on ESPN+ is set for 8 p.m. MT.

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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