The University of Denver women’s soccer team failed to capture its fourth straight Sun Belt Conference championship with a 3-0 loss to the North Texas Mean Green in the semifinal game.

The Mean Green put themselves on the board in the middle of the first half with a goal by Alyssa Carrier.

The Pioneers had trouble finding the back of the net and two quick goals by the Mean Green to open the second half were too much to overcome.

DU opened the SBC Tournament on a positive note with strong play by Lleane Grimditch and a 1-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Grimditch netted what turned out to be the game-winning goal 23 minutes into the first half.

She beat her defender and in stride put the ball past Ragin’ Cajun0 goalkeeper Anna Brannon.

Grimditch, a sophomore, was named the SBC Player of the Week this season, becoming the first Pioneer this season to earn the honor.

Grimditch received this award for her four-point performance in Denver’s back-to-back wins on the road against conference foes South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette.

She ended the Jaguars’ nine-game winning streak as she scored the game winning point as well as the first goal of the game for the Pioneers in their 3-2 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

She now leads the team with 15 points on five goals and five assists.

Grimditch stood out as an outstanding player last season and with her SBC Player of the Week honor continues to do so.

Last season, she started and played in all 21 of Denver’s games in the forward position.

She was the second-leading scorer with 35 points on 14 goals and seven assists and even received national recognition as she was named to the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week last September.

Grimditch was also ranked first in SBC play for goals per game with 1.12 and second in points per game with 2.62 and shots per game with 4.75.

She was named to the All-SBC Tournament Team and honored tournament Most Outstanding Player after scoring a winning goal against North Texas.

She was also named to the All-SBC First-Team and honored as the Freshman of the Year.

Grimditch began playing soccer at the age of 3.

She was on an all-boys team until she was 9 years old.

She says that she has played soccer for so long that it has been an integral part of her life in general.

Prior to her experience at DU, Grimditch played four years of soccer for Fairview High School in Boulder.

She was named to the Colorado all-state team and also played basketball for two years.

Grimditch always knew that she wished to play soccer on the collegiate level.

“Soccer’s been such a huge part of my life, and it was also a good means of getting into college,” she said.

Many schools, including Santa Clara, the University of Portland, the University of Colorado and Nebraska, recruited Grimditch.

But she chose Denver because it has not only a good soccer program but good academics as well.

Grimditch is still undecided on a major but says she is leaning more toward history and psychology.

As a team, the Pioneers end the year with a record of 9-10-2.

Next season will see 11 starters returning, which should provide for an experienced team.