University of Denver
San Francisco
Denver Hosts San Francisco in WCC Tilt Saturday Evening
10/8/2026 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The Pioneers will play the back half of their only back-to-back home match stretch of the regular season on Saturday
DENVER – The University of Denver men's soccer program will wrap-up its two-match homestand on Saturday afternoon when the Pioneers host San Francisco at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. Opening kickoff is set for 3 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
PROMOTIONS:
Saturday's promotions include Pups at the Pitch, a free youth ticket for youth in a jersey with the purchase of an adult ticket and post match autographs with the Pioneers.
LAST TIME OUT:
Denver senior Bryce Willoughby drew two red cards and scored a goal in the Pioneers 2-1 win over LMU last Saturday at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. The win marked the Pioneers first as members of the West Coast Conference. FULL RECAPÂ
SERIES HISTORY:
Denver won the only previous meeting between the two programs, defeating San Francisco 3-0 at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium in 2018 behind a hat trick from Andre Shinyashiki. HISTORY
TOP-10 SINCE 2015
- Denver is 138-52-38 since the start of the 2015 season.
- That record is good for eighth in the country in wins during that span, behind Wake Forest (166), Indiana (162), Clemson (158), Georgetown (156), Stanford (148), Washington (142) and Vermont (141).
- Of the 23 teams that had at least 110 wins in that span entering the year, Denver has the eighth-fewest losses at 52.
- Four of Denver's opponents are among the 23 that began the year with 100 wins since the start of the 2015 season.
WILLOUGHBY'S WINNER VS. LMU
- Senior Bryce Willoughby re-entered the game in the 60th minute, and drew two red cards and scored a 72nd minute game-winning goal in the Pioneers 2-1 win over LMU on October 3.
- Willoughby's game-winner was the eighth game-winner of his career, moving him into a tie with Colin Audley and Oje Ofunrein for third in Denver's DI era.
- The goal was also the 17th of his career.
- Both red cards Willoughby drew were for a denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity, being taken down from behind on breakaways in both the 69th and 87th minutes.Â
- LMU is the first Denver opponent to go down two men in the same game since Oral Roberts on September 24, 2022.
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER SOCCER STADIUM
- Denver is 119-24-20 at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium (2009).
- The Pioneers are 109-15-14 in their home stadium since Franks joined the staff in 2012 and 84-11-10 since he took over as head coach in 2015.
- Denver broke the stadium attendance record twice in the 2024 postseason, playing in-front of 1,875 in its 2024 NCAA Round of 16 game vs. [14] Indiana, before hosting a standing-room only crowd of 2,361 in the Pios 3-0 NCAA Quarterfinal win over UMass.
- Denver is 14-3-1 at home in conference tournament matches.
- Denver is 8-2-0 at home in NCAA Tournament games.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
- Career Points: Fifth-year forward Bryce Willoughby is now in 10th in Denver's Division I history in career points with 45
- Career Goals: Bryce Willoughby became the 10th player in the program's DI history to reach 15 career goals when he scored the opener at Stanford on August 23. Willoughby's 17th career goal on October 10 moved him to eighth in Denver's DI era.
- Career Game-Winners: Bryce Willoughby has eight career game-winning goals, tied for the third most in the program's DI era.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- Despite just the two wins to its name in 2026, Denver is 65th in the RPI through matches played October 5, and the program's strength of schedule ranks fifth in the country.
- Denver's non-conference strength of schedule ranked third in the country through Denver's non-conference finale on September 22.
- Six of Denver's first nine games were quad one games, including five matches against top-25 teams in the country.
UP NEXT:
Denver will return to the road next week when the Pioneers travel to Portland for the third time in the last two seasons. Opening kickoff is set for 8 p.m. MT, and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.Â
TICKETS:
Tickets for the remainder of Denver's 2026 home matches are on sale now and can be purchased here.Â
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