Photo by: Andrew Fielding
For the fourth consecutive season, DU’s women’s soccer team has been crowned Sun Belt Conference Champions.
Entering last week’s tournament as the defending three-time Sun Belt Champion, the Pioneers defeated No. 7 seeded Troy 3-0 and No. 6 seeded Arkansas State 3-1 to advance to their fourth straight conference championship.
In the tournament’s championship game, DU beat No. 8 seeded Arkansas-Little Rock 1-0, who three days earlier had shocked the tournament’s top seed Florida International, 1-0, in an overtime thriller.
With the win the Pioneers receive an automatic trip to the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
This year, the Pioneers will play their first-round game against University of Portland. Portland comes into the tournament with a record of 18-1-0. The game will be in Portland, Ore., on Friday.
Denver defender Jessie Rogers scored on a header off of a nicely placed pass by senior midfielder Mariah Johnson in the 21st minute of the game.
The goal proved to be the game winner as DU prevented Arkansas-Little Rock from scoring at the end of the first half when freshman goalkeeper Lara Campbell stopped an onslaught of shots from UALR’s Jacquelyn Paz, Christina Veasley and Kamiya Merrick. Campbell played an outstanding first half, recording four saves for DU.
However, in the second half Denver’s defense proved to be excellent, holding the Trojans to one shot on goal.
With the victory, DU avenged an earlier season loss to the Trojans on Oct. 18 in Little Rock, Ark. In the regular season, the Pioneers only lost two games in conference play.
The Pioneers ended what had been a tournament full of upsets. The Trojans entered the championship game looking for their third straight upset win after already topping No. 1 Florida International and No. 4 North Texas.
Denver refused to be claimed as the next victim, as they persevered to win the SBC tournament crown for the seventh time in ten years.
DU’s senior class, which includes defender Emily Stewart, forwards Brooke Lamphere and Johnston, and midfielders Lizzy Carlson, Kelli Breidenbach and Caitlin Rollins, has now won an SBC title in each season they have played for the Pioneers. At tournament’s end, Carlson was named to the SBC All-Tournament team. She joins Rogers, Campbell, freshman forward Kaitlin Bast and sophomore midfielder Bria Beardsley.
Bast scored three goals in the two preceding tournament games and was named the tournament’s most-outstanding player.
After losing to Kansas in the first round of last year’s NCAA tournament, the Pioneers hope to have more success in this year’s tournament.
