DU’s soccer teams look to build off the success that they had last fall in this spring:
Men’s soccer faces rough spring schedule
With the spring soccer season underway, the Pioneers have a 1-1 record, with four games remaining on their tough schedule.
The Pioneers squared off against the DU alumni team in an exhibition game which they won early in March. The event was held at Heritage Park in Highlands, Colo.
The Pioneers’ only spring season loss came on March 26 when the team let up a late goal at the 82 minute which sealed their fate against Creighton.
“It was a snowy day, but we matched up well against them,” said head coach Bobby Muse. “We started off slow, but we continued to get better, considering this was our first game since the season ended in November.”
Tomorrow the Pioneers will face off against the No. 1-ranked, Division II Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. The Orediggers finished their fall season with an impressive 17-2-2 overall.
“We tied them last year during spring; we should have won the game but we did not capitalize on some key opportunities late in the stretch,” said sophomore forward Nate Sackeyfio.
On Saturday, the Pioneers will host their second annual Kick for the Cure tournament in which the University of Creighton will take on the University of New Mexico at 4:30 pm, followed by the University of Denver battling the University of Tulsa at 7:00 p.m.
Women’s soccer looks to rebound after tough finale
The Pioneers finished their season last year with a heartbreaking loss to the University of Middle Tennessee in their Sun Belt Conference (SBC) championship game. They ended regulation tied 0-0 and eventually lost 3-2 in a shootout.
Moving forward to their spring season, the Pioneers have bounced back and are more focused than ever.
“We have put together our strongest competition yet so far,” said head coach Jeff Hooker.
Some games in the next coming weeks include Air Force Academy on Friday and the University of New Mexico on Saturday April 30.
During the Pioneers’ second game of the spring season, they defeated the University of Colorado.
“We played well, despite the other team being beat up. They had several injuries so they had some players playing out of their normal positions to compensate,” said Hooker.
The main focus this spring is developing the players that did not have an opportunity to play as much last fall, said Hooker.
“I have to resist the temptation of playing to win and have more of an emphasis of developing our team so that they are confident,” said Hooker.
With seven out of the 11 starters for Denver being underclassmen, there is no doubt that they are a young team. To add to the matters, they have nine freshmen coming in next fall.
“As a team, we need to show the freshmen that we are good and that we have high expectations, and just take them under our wings,” said sophomore forward Kaitlin Bast.
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“We are very fortunate to have him with us, and being with him throughout these past four years as been an awesome experience,” said Ostrow.
Martin attended every game upon his return, and made almost every practice, he says. He gave advice here and there, helping out his teammates daily, which he said meant a great deal to him.
He rallied the team to victory on Feb. 5 against CC after the team had falled behind 2-0 within the game’s first minutes. Martin stepped out onto the ice and thanked everyone for their support.
“I really wanted to tell everyone how thankful I was of their support, and also how blessed we all are,” said Martin. “Hockey is a privilege and I hope that everyone gets that extra bit of enjoyment knowing that. They saw [through me] how quickly everything in life can change.”
After the final game of the season, a 6-1 loss to UND in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final, Martin spoke to teammates for the last time, assuring them he was proud of everything they accomplished.
“Obviously it was disappointing to lose, it was some of our last games as a Pioneer, but that is something to be proud of, and that’s why it hurt so much for every senior to end their careers here,” said Martin. “We can leave, and be proud of what we accomplished.”
Moving past ‘suffering’
Martin called Malone on Oct. 31, the day after the controversial hit. Martin says he made the call to ease Malone’s pain, but also as a way to do deal with his own suffering.
“I don’t remember too much about the phone call, but heard he was having a hard time and I thought there was no point in him to suffer,” said Martin. “My real goal was to ease the process for him, and I didn’t want us to both suffer from what had happened, and hopefully move past it.”
Although Malone and Martin’s relationship hasn’t exactly gone as well as a Hollywood script with Malone only reaching out to Martin once, through text about a month ago, Martin says he doesn’t hold any grudge against Malone.
While Martin continues to recover from the tragedy, he continues to be a symbol of inspiration for an entire hockey community of fans, players and coaches, which ironically inspired his incredible recovery.
The story hasn’t come full circle yet, but when Martin graduates from DU this spring, and walks up to receive his diploma, it will be nothing short of a miracle.
