Sunday, September 6
Denver, Colo.
1 p.m. MT
University of Denver
1-3-2, 0-0-0
2
vs
0
Montana
2-4-0, 0-0-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denver | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder/Defender
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Defender
/ Women's Soccer
Forward
/ Women's Soccer
Defender
/ Women's SoccerTeam Stats
MON
DEN
Goals
0
2
Shots
5
10
Shots on Goal
0
5
Saves
3
0
Corners
6
5
Fouls
7
10
Scoring Plays
Nora Zelazny (1)
Assisted By: Caitlin Staats
GOAL by DEN Zelazny, Nora Assist by Staats, Caitlin.
07:43
Kera Nguyen (2)
Assisted By: Kit Mooney
GOAL by DEN Nguyen, Kera Assist by Mooney, Kit.
59:51
Game Leaders
mid
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
def
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
mid
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Photo by: Sophie Hamill/Denver Athletics
Denver Women’s Soccer Grabs Shutout Win Against Montana
9/6/2026 4:08:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Zelazny, Nguyen score on either side of halftime for Pioneers’ first win of West Coast Conference era
DENVER – The University of Denver women's soccer team (1-3-2, 0-0-0 WCC) captured its first win of the campaign with 2-0 victory over Montana at University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Two Denver seniors found the back of the net, one on either side of halftime. Nora Zelazny scored what would be the game winner in just the eighth minute, marking the senior defender's first career NCAA goal. Her classmate Kera Nguyen doubled the Denver lead in the 60th minute for her team-leading second goal of the season.
Sophomore Lucy Garnsey posted her second career clean sheet but her first in a Pioneers' victory.
SCORING SUMMARY:
7:43 (DEN): Nora Zelazny (Staats)
59:51 (DEN): Kera Nguyen (Mooney)
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
8' | Montana keeper Avery Heeb made an initial save on a shot from Mooney but gave up the rebound. Staats found it at her feet, tapped it to her left and set up Zelazny to beat the keeper at the far post.
12' | Nguyen almost made it 2-0 with a look at the near post from inside the 18-yard box, but Montana's Heeb reacted just quickly enough to cover the gap and push the ball out of play.
60' | Mooney turned over a Montana midfielder and immediately headed toward the goal before threading the ball through a couple sets of Griz defenders to find an in-stride Nguyen, who finished the job at the near post from 10 yards out.
86' | Following a run down the left side of the pitch, Staats sent a shot in from the side edge of the 18 and nearly tucked it under the crossbar, but Montana's Heeb lifted it over the net.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The University of Denver women's soccer team plays its final non-conference road match of the year with a trip to Colorado on Friday, September 11, at 7 p.m. MT before returning home for its non-conference finale against Air Force on Thursday, September 17, at 7 p.m. MT.
TICKETS
Season and single-match tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now, available for purchase online or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.
Two Denver seniors found the back of the net, one on either side of halftime. Nora Zelazny scored what would be the game winner in just the eighth minute, marking the senior defender's first career NCAA goal. Her classmate Kera Nguyen doubled the Denver lead in the 60th minute for her team-leading second goal of the season.
Sophomore Lucy Garnsey posted her second career clean sheet but her first in a Pioneers' victory.
SCORING SUMMARY:
7:43 (DEN): Nora Zelazny (Staats)
59:51 (DEN): Kera Nguyen (Mooney)
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
- DU moves to 1-3-2 on the season with two non-conference matches remaining on the schedule.
- Denver is now 172-37-21 at home in its NCAA Division I history and 102-27-18 at University of Denver Soccer Stadium.
- DU moves to 3-4-3 over its last 10 matches, dating back to the 2025 season.
- On Labor Day weekend, DU now holds an 18-8-1 record including 12-1-0 at home.
- Denver is now 2-1-0 against Montana, all three matches having been played at home.
- Sunday's match became the 259th clean sheet in Denver's DI history and its second of the year.
- Zelazny and junior Kit Mooney each registered their first collegiate points – Zelazny on her goal and Mooney with her assist on Nguyen's goal.
- Freshman Caitlin Staats had the helper on Zelazny's goal, marking her second assist of the year.
- Nguyen equaled her career best with three shot attempts, putting two on target including her second-half goal.
- Zelazny's goal was DU's first in the first half so far this year. It was also the first non-equalizer scored by a Pioneer in 2026 thus far.
- The Pioneers move to 2-1-0 when Nguyen has a goal and 1-0-1 when Staats registers an assist.
- For the second match in a row and the third time in 2026, Denver outshot its opponent, this time by a 10-5 margin over Montana.
- Denver held Montana without a shot on goal.
- DU's last time holding an opponent to no shots on target was August 18, 2022, against San Diego.
- A season-high 21 Pioneers saw minutes in the match.
- Sophomore Annie Philbin made her awaited season debut after missing the first five matches with an injury. A season ago, she started in all 18 matches for the Pioneers.
8' | Montana keeper Avery Heeb made an initial save on a shot from Mooney but gave up the rebound. Staats found it at her feet, tapped it to her left and set up Zelazny to beat the keeper at the far post.
First career goal for Nora Zelazny! #GoPios pic.twitter.com/j1e7gAqKNr
— Denver Women's Soccer (@DU_WSoccer) September 6, 2026
12' | Nguyen almost made it 2-0 with a look at the near post from inside the 18-yard box, but Montana's Heeb reacted just quickly enough to cover the gap and push the ball out of play.
60' | Mooney turned over a Montana midfielder and immediately headed toward the goal before threading the ball through a couple sets of Griz defenders to find an in-stride Nguyen, who finished the job at the near post from 10 yards out.
Second goal of the season for Kera Nguyen! #GoPios pic.twitter.com/JH0sN1Uxny
— Denver Women's Soccer (@DU_WSoccer) September 6, 2026
86' | Following a run down the left side of the pitch, Staats sent a shot in from the side edge of the 18 and nearly tucked it under the crossbar, but Montana's Heeb lifted it over the net.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The University of Denver women's soccer team plays its final non-conference road match of the year with a trip to Colorado on Friday, September 11, at 7 p.m. MT before returning home for its non-conference finale against Air Force on Thursday, September 17, at 7 p.m. MT.
TICKETS
Season and single-match tickets for the 2026 season are on sale now, available for purchase online or by visiting the Ritchie Center Box Office.
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Sunday, September 06
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