Over the weekend, the DU men’s soccer team split its road trip, falling to Cal State Bakersfield (CSUB) 2-0 on Friday, then defeating University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) 3-0 on Sunday. The games brought DU to 9-5-3 overall and 4-4-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, with only next week’s matchup against Air Force remaining on the regular season schedule.
On Friday, the Pioneers failed to get off to a hot start, according to head coach Bobby Muuss. The Pioneers gave up a 28th minute goal to the Roadrunners via a penalty kick from senior Justin Finch, his first of the season.
Less than five minutes later, CSUB scored again off a counter attack. David Velasquez finished the play off assists from Roadrunners Gyasi Zardes and Lucas Dall’Orso. Zardes leads the MPSF in overall points with 36, while senior midfielder Josh Wren leads the Pioneers with 18 points.
“I was a little disappointed in the way we came out in the first 25 minutes, but I was proud of how the guys responded after going down 2-0,” said Muuss. “I thought that we really got into the attack in the second half; we just couldn’t put it all together tonight.”
The Pioneers were only able to put two shots on goal, both of which were saved by Roadrunners keeper Eric Shannon, who recorded his 27th career shutout. The game was marred by fouls, with 32 called and six cautions issued. With the win, CSUB increased its lead to three points in the Pacific division of the MPSF.
“I think the effort was all in the first half,” said CSUB head coach Simon Tobin. “We scored two goals in the first half, and then in the second half we kind of took our foot off the pedal a little bit, but I feel like we still played well for most of game.
“It was a good performance for us against a good Denver team that was coming off a good weekend and has a good RPI. So this win is more than the three points in the conference for us; it’s a great result.”
While the Pioneers fell behind early on Friday, they played the first 45 minutes to an even draw on Sunday before exploding for three second-half goals against a UNLV team coming off a 3-2 overtime win versus Air Force.
Wren gave DU its first goal of the week in the 48th minute off an assist from junior midfielder Zach Bolden, who also recorded an assist just two minutes later on a goal from junior Anees Abdulgasem. Junior defender Jack Henderson capped off the second-half barrage with his first goal of the season, scoring in the 72nd minute.
“We played all 21 players this weekend, and today was the ultimate team win. To come on the road and keep a clean sheet against an incredible attacking team shows how well we played today,” said Muuss.
“Wins on the road, especially wins on the road on Sundays, are crucial to a successful season. The guys that came off the bench today gave us some huge minutes and a couple of goals.”
The Pioneers are now guaranteed the third spot in the Mountain division of MPSF, trailing second-place Air Force by four points. DU will host the Falcons for senior night on Saturday at 7 p.m. on CIBER Field.
“A 10th win would be the most that these seniors will have in their careers,” said Muuss. “We have to stick to the game plan, play our game and control the pace of play.”
The Falcons tied CSUB on Sunday, scoring on their only shot on goal of the match. Air Force averages just one goal per game, yet has battled to a 5-2-2 record in conference play. Both AFA and DU have locked up spots in the conference tournament, but DU’s aspirations go far beyond the tournament, according to Muuss.
