DENVER – The University of Denver women’s soccer team (8-5-1, 2-1-1 Summit) collected its second Summit League win of the season and the first at home with a 3-1 win against St. Thomas on Thursday night.
The Pioneers saw goals from redshirt sophomore Hannah Tate and senior Ella Frost just over four minutes apart to lead 2-0 at halftime. UST came back within one with a goal in the 70th minute and had the chance to draw even about four minutes later after earning a penalty kick following a Denver foul inside the box. Sophomore keeper Molly Wissman dove toward her right post to snatch the ball away on the attempt, maintaining Denver’s 2-1 lead in the 75th.
After the Tommies hit the crossbar in the 84th minute, the Pioneers began a counterattack that resulted in a goal 20 seconds later from sophomore Michaela McGowan to give Denver a 3-1 victory.
COACH’S NOTES:
From head coach Julianne Sitch: “We dug out a huge win for us. They hit the crossbar a few times, and Molly (Wissman) made an unbelievable save on the PK to keep it from going to 2-2. Then for us to kind of put our foot on the pedal and go after them again and find that third goal – Mac’s (M. McGowan) shot was unbelievable.
“Not every game can be pretty, but getting three points and finding a way to win, that’s important especially at this point in the season.”
SIGNIFICANT STATS:
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- For the second time in her career, Wissman made a save on a non-shootout penalty kick.
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- Her first was at North Dakota State on October 19, 2023.
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- For the second time in her career, Wissman made a save on a non-shootout penalty kick.
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- Frost netted her fifth goal of the season and her third game winner – both best among Pioneers this year.
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- M. McGowan retook the team lead with 13 points after her goal and an assist on Tate’s while Frost and freshman Megan Murray moved into a tie for second, each with 12 points.
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- Tate’s and Frost’s first-half goals were scored just 4:11 apart from one another, marking the third time Denver has scored consecutive goals within five minutes this year.
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- M. McGowan’s goal was DU’s third of the year in the final 10 minutes of a match – with all three coming in the 85th minute.
FIRST HALF:
6′ | St. Thomas rattled a shot off the underside of the crossbar that bounced just inches from the goal line. A video review confirmed the call of no-goal.
27′ | M. McGowan clipped the crossbar from 20 yards out, and Tate came up to retrieve the rebound and push the ball into the back of the net.
31′ | Seniors Delaney McGowan and Riley Baker connected on the right side of the pitch with Baker sending the ball through traffic back toward the top of the 18-yard box. Redshirt junior Samantha Dreiling let the ball sneak through her feet where an awaiting Frost knocked it under the keeper and into the net.
45′ | DU’s first-half goal scorers nearly connected for another one with Tate feeding the ball up toward Frost through midfield, but the senior narrowly missed the touch.
SECOND HALF:
53′ | Tate again had the quick-touch pass, this time tapping it to a quickly approaching redshirt senior Addisyn Hyrup, but the UST keeper was able to handle the shot.
70′ | St. Thomas’ Sophia Barjesteh chipped the ball up over Wissman and off the crossbar to pull the Tommies within one.
75′ | UST earned a penalty kick off a DU foul inside the right edge of the box. UST’s Abby Brantner stepped to the line and tried to send it inside the left post, but Wissman timed her dive perfectly to grab the ball well clear of the line.
85′ | After St. Thomas rang a free kick off the crossbar, M. McGowan began a counterattack that saw M. Murray push up through the center of the field before tapping the ball back up to M. McGowan, who curled the ball in from the edge of the 18-yard box and into the far corner.
WHAT’S NEXT:
DU (8-5-1, 2-1-1 Summit) continues its three-match homestand when it hosts North Dakota State on Sunday, October 13, at 12 p.m. MT for Senior Day.
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2024 University of Denver women’s soccer season are now on sale and can be purchased at denverpioneers.com/tickets or by calling the Ritchie Center Box Office at 303-871-4625.
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