In its first two Western Athletic Conference competitions, the No. 18 Pioneer women’s soccer team topped San Jose State 4-0 on Friday night and tied defending WAC champions Utah State 0-0 on Sunday, extending its unbeaten streak to 12 games.
On Friday night, the Pioneers (9-1-3, 1-0-1 WAC) recorded a shutout at CIBER Field in their WAC opener. Denver opened the scoring when senior midfielder Katy Van Lieshout fired a short-range ball past the keeper less than 15 minutes into the game.
“You’re never going to have another first game in a new conference, so our goal was to win,” said head coach Jeff Hooker. “We came out with a lot of fire. I think we started with a lot of energy.”
Less than five minutes after Van Lieshout’s goal, junior forward Kristen Hamilton scored off an assist from senior forward Kaitlin Bast. Bast, the defending Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, scored in the 56th minute off an assist from senior forward Kalie Vaughn and ended the night with a goal and two assists for Denver.
“It was our first game of the WAC, so we wanted to come out and get the win,” said Hamilton, who recorded a hat trick the previous week and was named the CS360 National Primetime Player of the Week. “We got a shutout, which is huge, and it really sets the tone for us in the WAC and lets everyone know what we’re all about.”
In the 64th minute, junior midfielder Nicholette DiGiacomo recorded Denver’s fourth goal off an assist from Bast.
“Our energy was very good, but our efficiency in other games had been better,” said Hooker after the game. “Overall I think we played pretty well, but we needed to be a little bit better defensively. All in all not a great game for us, but we got the shutout win.”
Goalkeepers Lara Campbell and Maria Khan each recorded three saves for Denver.
On Sunday, Denver hosted defending WAC champions Utah State (5-2-6, 0-0-2 WAC). Even after two overtime periods, both teams remained scoreless.
“I think that Utah State came back really well after playing an overtime game Friday,” said Hooker. “The had a lot of energy and they gave us some trouble.”
The Pioneers outshot Utah State 24-10, but struggled to get their shots on goal.
“When you get 24 shots and only 6 are on goal, that’s just not going to get it done at any level,” said Hooker. “You have to get them on target to have a chance.”
Denver also topped Utah State 10-1 in corner kicks. Looking forward, Bast said the team will use their experiences from this weekend to improve for the rest of the season.
“We definitely have things to work on,” said Bast. “We are always trying to get better every game.”
Up next, the Pioneers will travel to Ruston, La., to take on Louisiana Tech on Friday afternoon in their third WAC matchup.
