WHO: Denver (5-3-3, 2-0-0 Summit) vs. Kansas City (5-5-1, 0-1-0 Summit)
WHAT: DU's first Summit League home match
WHERE: University of Denver Soccer Stadium (Denver, Colorado)
WHEN: Thursday, October 2, at 7 p.m. MT
 
MATCH PROMOTIONS
Thursday is National Smarties Day, and the Pioneers will be celebrating with Smarties candy giveaways.
 
It is also $2 hot dog night. Fans can receive their discounted hot dogs from 6:30-7:30 p.m., while supplies last.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
Denver posted its second comeback victory in its last three matches with a 2-1 win at reigning Summit League regular-season champion North Dakota State on September 28. After NDSU took a 1-0 lead in the 16^th minute, senior Brooke Ahern stole the ball from the NDSU keeper on an attempted clearance and pushed the ball across the line to get Denver on equal terms heading into halftime.
 
For the fourth time this year, senior Isabella Chidiac found redshirt junior Emma Thielbahr for a header off a corner kick to give DU a 2-1 lead in the 71^st minute. It was also the second game winner in DU's last three matches from such a goal.
 
QUICK HITS:

• Thielbahr was named the Summit League Defensive Peak Performer of the Week after helping lead DU to the shutout win at North Dakota and then scoring the game winner at North Dakota State.
  • She joins redshirt senior Samantha Dreiling in earning weekly recognition from the Summit League this season.
• Thielbahr and Chidiac extended their team leads in goals (4) and assists (6), respectively, with their 71^st-minute connection at NDSU. Thielbahr also became the first Pioneer with multiple game winners this season.
• The last matches that DU played at University of Denver Soccer Stadium saw the Pioneers set the fourth-highest attendance mark in program history against Colorado on September 11 (1,660) before upsetting then-No. 25 Colorado State, 2-1, on September 14.
• This is the fourth year in a row that Denver will host three consecutive matches against Summit League opponents.
• DU is seeking its fifth Summit League title in 2025 and its ninth regular-season crown since joining the League in 2013-14.

SCOUTING THE ROOS:
Denver is 6-0-0 against Kansas City including 2-0-0 at home. The teams last met in the 2024 Summit League opener at UMKC where Denver claimed a 3-1 win. The Roos' last trip to Denver was October 12, 2023, in a 1-0 DU win.
 
Kansas City played just once during the opening weekend of Summit League play, scoring first but ultimately coming up short at home against Oral Roberts, 1-2. The Roos finished non-conference play on a three-match road trip that ended with one win, one loss and one tie.
 
UMKC graduate transfer Delfina Zolesio Fernandez Blanco leads the team in goals (7) and points (15). Two more Roos join Zolesio Fernandez Blanco with a team-best three assists: Kaitlyn Edwards and Olivia Platt. Audrey Brown leads a trio of goalkeepers who have seen action this year, making 10 of 11 starts while collecting four wins.
 
UP NEXT:
Denver hits the midpoint of its three-match homestand against Summit League opponents when it hosts Oral Roberts on Sunday, October 5, at 1 p.m. MT.
 
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2025 Denver women's soccer season are now on sale and available for purchase online, by calling 303-871-4625 or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.