Note: This article was finalized on Monday, Oct. 12 and does not take into account any events that have transpired since then.

Denver women’s soccer fell in two home game this past weekend at CIBER Field, featuring matchups against North Dakota State University on Oct. 9 and South Dakota State University on Oct. 11.

The Pioneers were looking for the home field advantage and added spirit that the Denver crowd brings, but the team unfortunately fell short in both matches.

“More than anything else, it’s nice to be at home. To play in front of your family, friends and the students gives the girls a lot of motivation,” said head coach, Jeff Hooker.

Denver women’s soccer lost 4-3 in a heartbreaking loss to Summit League opponent, North Dakota State University, on Oct. 9.

Three different players earned points for Denver against North Dakota State on Oct. 9 in the highest scoring game of 2015 for the Pioneers.

Sophomore Riley Welch (Littleton, Colorado) scored the point to tie the game 1-1, which not only gave Denver momentum, but also provided Welch with her first goal as a Pioneer.

Redshirt junior Karina Fredette (Gatineau, Quebec) gave Denver their 2-1 lead in the 36th minute of play, followed by a goal from senior Taylor Ivens (West Haven, Utah).

With time running low in the match, Pioneer freshman Mary Dewalt (West Bend, Wisconsin) got lucky when a pass was deflected into the North Dakota State goal by one of North Dakota’s own players. The game was tied, leading to overtime play.

North Dakota State was able to walk away from the match victorious, scoring the seventh goal of the match over the Pioneers in overtime play.

Denver faced the reigning Summit League Champions on Oct. 11, South Dakota State University.

The Pioneers faced overtime for the fifth time this season, but were not able to walk away from CIBER Field with a win. The final score of the game was 1-0 in South Dakota’s favor.

Junior goalkeeper Cassidy Rey (Arcadia, California) made three saves in regulation time, which allowed Denver to hold their own against the visiting Jackrabbits.

A heated matchup, Denver outshot South Dakota 10-7 in regular play, but were not able to come up with a goal.

The Pioneers boast a younger squad this season with six new freshman players. After graduating a large senior class last year, the team has taken this season to adjust to the changes and to develop a new team dynamic.

“We are very young [the team],” said Hooker. “Right now, we have one senior who’s starting out of the eleven. Most teams around the country have five, six or seven [seniors] and it’s just kind of the makeup of our team now. [Seniors] Taylor Ivins and Tina Vargas (Issaquah, Washington) are both coming back off of injuries, so it’s a combination of us early on replacing players that have graduated and then having some injuries that didn’t really help us develop players. We had to patch holes, but people are now getting healthy and it’s a totally different look than it was at the beginning of the season.”

With six games remaining, Denver women’s soccer has yet to earn a victory, but there is still plenty of time.

“Our biggest goal is winning games and having the team continue to improve every week,” Hooker said.

After the second Summit League match for the Pioneers of the season, their current record now stands at 0-2-0 for conference play.

Denver travels to Indiana University- Purdue University Fort Wayne on Oct. 16 for their fourth Summit League match of the 2015-16 season.