Denver’s season ends on penalties at Portland in NCAA Second Round

PORTLAND – The University of Denver men’s soccer program and No. 8 seed Portland drew 2-2 before the Pilots advanced 5-4 on penalties in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament on Sunday night at Merlo Field.

Portland advances to play Grand Canyon next weekend in the NCAA Round of 16.

Goals:

Denver: Olsson 3′ (pen), McGowan 77′ (Kelly)

[8] Portland: Highfield 20′ (pen), Rosas 65′   

Notes:

• Denver is now 11-11-3 (0-3 pens) in its NCAA Tournament history, including 2-5-1 (0-1) in the second round and 2-8-2 (0-2) on the road.
• The Pioneers are now 5-2-5 all-time against Portland, including 3-1-2 in true road games.
• Denver is 135-46-36 under Jack and Sheila Weinberg Head Men’s Soccer Coach Jamie Franks, ranking sixth in the country in wins since 2015 behind Wake Forest, Indiana, Clemson, Georgetown and Stanford. The Pioneers are also seventh in fewest losses in that span.
• Franks is 10-8-3 (0-3) in the NCAA Tournament at DU, including 10-7-2 (0-2) as the head coach. Combining his time as a player and coach both at Wake Forest and Denver, Franks is 26-12-5 in the NCAA postseason.
• In Franks 11 seasons at Denver, the Pioneers have been in the second round of the tournament eight times.
• Holger Olsson opened the scoring in the third minute from the penalty spot, his second goal of the season, both penalties. The penalty was the third of his career, and his 12^th career goal overall.
• With Olsson’s goal, Denver improved to 5-for-7 from the penalty spot this season.
• Portland leveled the match on a penalty before the half hour mark, making Denver opponents 7-for-7 from the spot this season.
• Kyle McGowan leveled the match at 2-2 with his 11^th goal of the season and the 14^th of his career. The tally for McGowan was his seventh goal in the last seven matches.
• McGowan’s goal was his second in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and his second career NCAA Tournament goal, making him the sixth multi-goal scorer in the NCAA postseason in Denver’s DI history.
• McGowan’s 11^th goal of the season tied him with Oje Ofunrein (2023) for the third-most in a single season in program history, trailing only Brian Todd’s (1999) 15 and Andre Shinyashiki’s (2018) 28.
• McGowan’s goal gave him 25 points on the year, putting him seventh in Denver’s single-season Division I history.
• Keegan Kelly earned an assist on the McGowan goal, his second assist of the NCAA Tournament and his fourth of the season.
• Seniors Trevor Wright and Isaac Nehme extended their DU Division I record for career starts, making their 85^th career start on Sunday.
• Senior Dylan Akau made his 87^th career appearance on Sunday to tie Saturday USL Championship winner Aidan O’Toole’s program record.

First Half:

3′ Holger Olsson took Denver’s first shot of the day, calling on the keeper to make his first save of the day.

3′ After Denver won the ball back in its own half, Bryce Willoughby made a sharp run down the Denver left. Willoughby played it across to Kyle McGowan who was chopped down from behind and after seeing if advantage could be played, the referee rightly pointed to the spot. Olsson stepped up to take it and sent the keeper the wrong way and kicked it down the middle for the early opener.

13′ Anton Hjalmarsson got the first shot on target of the day for the Pilots, but Isaac Nehme went down well to his right and kept the rebound out of danger.

20′ Portland earned a penalty kick of its own after pouring on the pressure in response to the Denver goal. Grant Lund was whistled for the challenge in the corner of the area. Joe Highfield sent Nehme the wrong way and went right down the middle to match Olsson’s penalty to level the match at 1-1.

24′ Denver got back on the front foot when Kyle McGowan had a hit from 25-yards out, hard and low across the slick surface, but the Portland keeper was able to push it wide of the far post and out for Denver’s first corner of the night.

40′ The Pioneers turned Portland over in the press to create a series of chances. Willoughby made a run down the right, and had his shot saved. Luke Schultz was the first to the rebound, but had his shot cleared off the line, and then just after coming on Tyler Schommer had his follow up blocked in-front by a defender and Portland put it in behind for a DU corner.

45′ Kai Carlson tried to create an opportunity for Denver in the final minute of the first half, getting the ball to his left foot for a service from the flank, but McGowan couldn’t direct his header on target.

Denver out-shot Portland 8-5 in the opening 45 minutes, including 6-2 on target.

Second Half:

52′ Portland had the best early chance of the second half, when David Ajagbe got free in the box for a header, but it was always rising over the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

55′ Schultz made a productive run in the center of the park and lined up a shot from the top of the box, but he couldn’t steer his attempt on target, and it was out for a goal kick.

58′ Willoughby turned from the top of the box and had a hit, but he couldn’t get all on his strike and it rolled into the keepers arms.

65′ Portland took the lead after the hour mark on a shot from outside the area from Diego Rosas that found the lower right corner to put the Pilots in-front.

77′ Denver got the leveler with under 15 minutes to play as McGowan found the back of the net from outside the six-yard box. Will King pinballed it into the feet of Keegan Kelly who slid it to McGowan. McGowan turned and faced the target and picked out the inside of the far post.

83′ Sebastian Hernandez had a volley off a corner from the top of the box, but it landed on the roof of the net.

88′ Dylan Akau got a good run down the Denver left, but was put off just before getting his shot off, and it went wide of the near post and out for a goal kick.

Extra Time:

93′ Nehme was called on to make a big save in the early stages of the first half of extra time, and even though the rebound went to the side of Nehme’s net, the Portland attacker following up the play was offside.

100′ Schultz tried to pick out a ball over the top to the run of Kelly at the far post, but Schultz put a little too much on the ball and it went in behind for a goal kick.

101′ Olsson had the first attempt at the winner in the second overtime, but his curling effort was wide of the far post and out for a goal kick.

106′ Nehme turned away Portland’s third attempt of the overtime session off the foot of Hjalmarsson, and it went out in behind for a corner.

Shootout:

Round 1: Jake Smith and Joe Highfield both converted  

Round 2: Akau had his penalty saved. Anton Hjalmarsson sends Nehme the wrong way.

Round 3: Ian Welch sends the keeper the wrong way. Nehme guesses right, but Andrew Portis found the top corner.

Round 4: Olsson goes top left and scores. Micaah Garnette also goes top left.

Round 5: McGowan scores in the bottom left corner. David Ajagbe goes down the middle to win the shootout.

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