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Only DU women manage to win
The Pioneer women’s soccer team remains on a roll in the Sun Belt Conference after a tight match.
Meanwhile, CU fell in overtime and Northern Colorado fell apart late. In men’s soccer, DU and Air Force each lost close matches.
DU Needs OT: Sophomore defender Katy Van Lieshout scored a game-winner in overtime to help DU keep its Sun Belt Conference record unblemished, as the Pioneers defeated the Florida International Golden Panthers 1-0 at CIBER Field on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s nice to remain undefeated at home and in conference play,” head coach Jeff Hooker said. “We knew this was going to be a good battle, and our depth really helped us in the late part of the game.”
The goal came 1:08 into overtime, after freshman Cassidy Larson played a ball down the right sideline and crossed to freshman midfielder Nicholette DiGiacomo, who fired a shot. The ball deflected off FIU goalkeeper Melanie Raimo, and Van Lieshout was there to make the point-blank finish. It was Van Lieshout’s third game-winner in the past four games.
“The goal was very fundamental,” Hooker said.
Sophomore goalkeeper Lara Campbell made one save for her fifth shutout of the season. Denver outshot the Golden Panthers 16-5 and had a 9-3 advantage over FIU on corner kicks.
In eight Sun Belt Conference games, the Pioneers have outscored their opponents 19-1.
The Pioneers return to action when they visit conference rival Arkansas State at 2 p.m. Thursday.
CU Drops: The Buffaloes remain snakebit. They keep games close, but they are having trouble defeating Big 12 Conference foes.
The latest example of this came on Sunday as CU fell to the University of Oklahoma 2-1.
Colorado (6-9-1) suffered its fifth loss in Big 12 Conference competition giving them a 2-5-1 mark as Oklahoma (9-5-2) improved to 4-2-1 in league play.
Kate Russell scored the only goal of the first 45 minutes in the 3rd minute. Amy Barczuk sent a cross to the far post where Russell connected with it on a header. This was Russell’s third goal of the season and Barczuk’s first career assist.
Despite being outshot 6-3, the Buffaloes managed to lead 1-0 after the first half with CU goalkeeper Annie Brunner making two saves.
“Annie (Brunner) was brilliant,” said head coach Bill Hempen. “She had some great saves that they didn’t score which helped a lot.”
On its 13th shot of the game, Oklahoma scored the equalizer to tie it at 1-1 in the 67th minute. Dria Hampton scored the goal for the Sooners from 18 yards out sending the ball over Brunner’s head for her fourth this season.
Less than a minute into CU’s sixth overtime match of the season, Whitney Palmer netted the golden goal for the Sooners ending the game at 2-1 and giving the Buffaloes their second extra period loss of the season. Annalisa Hall served a corner kick to Palmer who sent it into a wide open net.
“They were winning all the knock-down stuff. And we were turning the ball over on various areas of the field,” said Hempen. “They are very direct and committed to going forward. They made some great runs through our back line and were just really good today.”
The Buffaloes return home to take on the University of Kansas at Prentup Field at 2:30 p.m. Monday.
Bears Tumble: The Northern Colorado women’s soccer squad came away disappointed after letting up a couple late goals in a 2-0 loss at home to Sacramento State.
The loss put the Bears’ record at 9-4-2, 2-1-1 in Big Sky play, while also ending their five-game unbeaten streak.
Northern Colorado’s next match comes on Friday when Eastern Washington comes to Greeley. That night will be senior night for the Bears.
Falcons Falter: Devon Sandoval headed a pass from Patrick Pacheco into the net with two seconds remaining Sunday to give the New Mexico men’s soccer team a 1-0 victory over Air Force at Cadet Soccer Stadium.
The Lobos improved to 6-4-2 overall and 3-2-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Falcons fell to 4-9-0, 2-3-0 MPSF.
With the clock running down, Pacheco raced down the right side and sent a cross into the front of the net. Sandoval flicked the ball with his head past Air Force goalie Matt Underwood just inside the left post as UNM avenged a 3-2 loss to the Falcons last Sunday in Albuquerque.
Underwood made four saves for Air Force, while Lobo keeper Justin Holmes made one save in recording his third shutout of the season.
Air Force returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday against San Jose State at Cadet Soccer Stadium.
Pioneers Fall: The University of Denver men’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to UNLV at CIBER Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Rebel’s Mike Mota scored in the 19th minute when he headed a corner kick into the back right corner of the net, and the Pioneers weren’t able to answer offensively.
“I was disappointed with today’s performance,” head coach Bobby Muuss said. “It’s particularly frustrating that we controlled the majority of possession in the game but couldn’t produce offensively.”
Denver (5-5-3, 2-2-1 MPSF) had two promising scoring opportunities in the final minute on corner kicks, but the crosses from senior Kellan Christensen were unsuccessful in locating a Pioneer boot within the box.
The Rebels (5-7-1, 2-2-1 MPSF) out-shot the Pioneers 17-10, and took four corners kicks to UNLV’s three. Senior goalkeeper Joe Willis made four saves for Denver, while UNLV’s Simon Cook made three saves for the shutout.
Denver returns to action when it hosts Sacramento State at 7 p.m. Friday.
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