Denver Women’s Soccer Heads to Colorado State on Sunday, Kickoff Changed to 12 p.m. MT

Sunday, August 16

Fort Collins, Colo.

12 p.m. MT

University of Denver

Colorado State

Photo by: Sophie Hamill/Denver Athletics

Denver Women’s Soccer Heads to Colorado State on Sunday, Kickoff Changed to 12 p.m. MT

8/14/2026 11:50:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Live Stream Live Stats Match Notes

DU seeking first completed match of 2026 following suspension of season opener at Northern Colorado on Thursday

WHO: Denver (0-0-0, 0-0-0 WCC) at Colorado State (0-1-0, 0-0-0 Pac-12)
WHAT: DU's new de-facto season opener
WHERE: CSU Soccer Stadium (Fort Collins, Colorado)
WHEN: Sunday, August 16, at 12 p.m. MT

TIME CHANGE:
Due to the weather forecast for Sunday, the Denver at Colorado State match time has been moved up to 12 p.m. MT (after being originally scheduled for 3 p.m. MT).

LAST TIME OUT:
Denver was in the 20^th minute at Northern Colorado on August 13 when the match was suspended for the night due to lightning and flooding in the stadium.

The teams had played a scoreless 19:52 when lightning was detected in the area, sending teams to the locker room for a second time – the first coming during warmups, which pushed back kickoff by 30 minutes initially.

After about an hour's delay, match officials and both coaching staffs agreed not to resume play for the night due to flooding on the field and in the stadium, as well as continued lightning and rain.

The teams agreed to consider rescheduling the contest, though a decision had not yet been reached by the morning of August 14.

Prior to the suspension of play, Denver led the match with three shot attempts, all landing on target and all by freshmen: Caitlin Staats with two and Keirra Venson with one.

QUICK HITS:

After DU's scheduled season opener was suspended due to weather and field conditions before a result could be determined, Sunday's match at Colorado State becomes Denver's de-facto opener for the 2026 season.
- As of the morning of August 14, a decision had not yet been reached regarding a potential rescheduling of the Denver at Northern Colorado match.
Denver is entering its first season as a member of the West Coast Conference after completing the transition to its new home on July 1.
- DU spent the last 13 seasons in the Summit League, winning nine regular-season titles – including last year – and four tournament titles.
Head coach Julianne Sitch is in her fourth year in charge of the Pioneers.
- Through her first three seasons, she owns a 29-13-13 record.
- Sitch has registered a winning record in all three seasons at Denver including last year's 9-5-4 record.
In season openers, DU is 14-10-4 since becoming an NCAA Division I program in 1998.
- The team is 3-1-1 in its last five season openers following its 2-1 win at Air Force last year.
- In season openers played on the road, Denver is 5-6-2 including 2-3-2 in true road matches.
- Denver has scored at least one goal in 19 of its openers with its most being five goals against Air Force in 2021.
For the second year in a row, Denver was scheduled to begin its season with four consecutive matches away from home.
- Prior to 2025, DU had not opened a season on the road since 2015.
During its non-conference schedule, DU will face five of its fellow Colorado teams, beginning with both of its opponents for opening weekend in Northern Colorado and Colorado State.
Two Pioneers have garnered preseason attention from Top Drawer Soccer in senior Liv Moritz and freshman Reese Morgan.
- Moritz was recognized as a TDS West Coast Conference Breakout Candidate in what will be her return season to the pitch after missing 2025 while pursuing an Olympic spot with Team USA in alpine skiing.
- R. Morgan, the 2026 Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year, was named by TDS as one of 10 of the winners singled out as players to watch. The freshman also earned a spot on the TDS Spring High School Best XI second team for her final season before joining Denver.
Former DU starting goalkeeper Alina Santos signed her first professional contract in August, doing so with English club Southampton FC Women.

ROSTER NOTES:

S. Dreiling and senior Nora Zelazny are Denver's captains for 2026.
- Dreiling was a co-captain in 2025. This will be Zelazny's first year as a co-captain.
Denver returns 14 to its roster including five starters from the 2025 postseason: defenders Annie Philbin, Luci Vincent and Zelazny; and midfielders S. Dreiling and Rowan LaPiano.
- Of DU's 14 returners, 13 saw playing time last season.
- The 14 returners combined for more than 9,700 minutes on the pitch.
S. Dreiling and senior Alanna Raimondo lead the team's field players in career matches played, each at 51 entering the season. Raimondo has the lead in minutes played (2895).
S. Dreiling was granted a sixth year of eligibility via medical hardship waiver after missing her first two NCAA seasons with injury.
- The NCAA's new "five-in-five" age-based eligibility model allows student-athletes who were on rosters for 2025-26 to use either the new eligibility model or the old model – including redshirts – if it benefits the student-athlete, as is the case for S. Dreiling.
For the third season in a row, Denver has a set of sisters on the roster in S. Dreiling and Grace Dreiling.
- The duo is the fourth pair of sisters to play for Denver and the second to be on the roster at the same time.
- The Dreilings have played in the same together four times and been on the pitch at the same time once (September 25, 2025, at North Dakota).
Despite sharing a last name, freshmen Maeve Morgan and Reese Morgan are not related.

HISTORY VS. COLORADO STATE:

Denver and Colorado State have met 10 times previously with DU owning a 5-3-2 advantage.
The teams have played in every season since 2015 except for the 2020 COVID-impacted and -delayed season.
DU and CSU have alternated hosting one another for their last seven meetings.
In 2025, DU rallied from an early goal deficit to post a 2-1 win at home, pulling an upset over the No. 25-ranked Rams.
Denver's last visit to CSU was September 12, 2024, where DU scored the match's only goal for a 1-0 win.
DU is 2-1-0 all-time at Colorado State with wins in its last two trips to Fort Collins.
Overall, Denver is unbeaten in its last five matches against Colorado State, going 4-0-1.
This will be the second time that DU and CSU have faced off during opening weekend after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in the season opener in 2023 in Denver.

SCOUTING THE RAMS:

CSU opened its 2026 campaign in its own weather-delayed match on August 12, taking an early lead before ultimately falling, 1-2, at Colorado.
- After CU took an early lead, CSU's Ava Wallhead drew the Rams level early in 66th minute before Colorado scored again with the eventual game winner in the 76th minute.
- Addison Huber started in goal and was one of five CSU student-athletes to play the full 90 minutes in the match.
Like Denver, Colorado State is in its first year as a member of a new conference, making the switch to the Pac-12 from the Mountain West.
- CSU was picked to finish tied for sixth in the Pac-12 Conference this year.
- Mia Casey, Avery Boulom and Bridget Arnold were named to the conference's 2026 Impact Players preseason list.
CSU's head coach Keeley Hagen is in her sixth season in Fort Collins and owns a 44-31-24 record following the team's 2026 opener at Colorado.
- Denver head coach Sitch and Hagen played professional soccer together including as members of the 2009 Sky Blue FC squad that won the 2009 Women's Professional Soccer league title. The duo remain good friends today.

WHAT'S NEXT:
Denver continues its season-opening stretch away from home when it travels to the Chicago area for two matches, first playing at DePaul on Thursday, August 20, before taking on Northwestern on Sunday, August 23.

TICKETS
Tickets for the 2026 season are now on sale, starting at $79, and are available for purchase online or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.

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