The women’s soccer team was busy this weekend, beating Troy 1-0 on Friday and tying South Alabama 1-1 in double overtime on Sunday.
The Pioneers tallied their eighth consecutive win for the season, and their 12th win overall. They are undefeated in the Sun Belt Conference, and are currently ranked No. 26 by SoccerTimes.com.
Denver out shot Troy 21-8, and after 34 minutes of play, Hemmings scored an unassisted goal to carry the Pioneers to the win. DU junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Snyder made five saves, recording her sixth shutout of the season.
“The team played very well as a defensive unit today,” head coach Jeff Hooker said Friday. “We failed to finish on a number of scoring opportunities, but we are very happy with any win on the road. We’re looking to build on this win heading into Sunday’s game.”
The Pioneers did build on the win, challenging the South Alabama Jaguars to double overtime in their game on Sunday and out shooting the opposition 15-9.
Sophomore defender Jessie Rogers tied the game with only 5:31 remaining in regular time, scoring off a pass from Hemmings. Play continued into double overtime without a golden goal.
The Pioneers fought hard and pushed their defensive line up, which resulted in a Jaguar header goal in the second half.
In the final seconds of regulation time, Rogers nearly earned Denver the win, just missing a header that bounced off the crossbar.
“We pushed a lot of players up front and had Jessie up there to put one of our best headers in the box,” Hooker said. “It was one of the few times we had a real commitment to finishing. We let ourselves down a number of times today, but we have to give South Alabama a lot of credit. They defended well and they defended with numbers.”
Denver out shot South Alabama 15-9 and goalkeeper Snyder tallied three saves in 110 minutes of play. Snyder was ranked 15th among NCAA Division I players, she has allowed only seven goals in 13 games giving her a 0.54 goals against average. With 96 career points Hemmings now ranks fourth in Denver’s all-time leading scorers.
The women return home to Pioneer Field for the next four games leading off with a game against Arkansas State on Friday at 4 p.m.
