The Denver men’s soccer team fought hard when facing first-time opponent Pittsburgh. The Pioneers controlled the first half, outshooting Pittsburgh 6-2 and creating early scoring opportunities off of set-pieces. The Pioneers were the first to score off of a play between Destan Norman (Fort Collins, Colo.) and freshman Kengo Ohira (Tokyo, Japan). In the 42nd minute, Norman received a pass from red-shirt junior Dylan Keeney (Littleton, Colo.) and took the ball up the right sideline, serving it across the six-yard box. Pittsburgh goalkeeper Ammann deflected Norman’s cross but Ohira was in position, ready to send the ball into the back of the net and record his first career goal. 

The Pioneers began the second half with the lead but Pittsburgh tied the game in the 53rd minute with a goal from Valentin Noel. The Panthers then continued to press, scoring again in the 56th minute off of an impressive short corner play that gave them the lead. But despite the pressure from the Panthers, Denver continued to fight on and tied up the game in the 70th minute. Stefan Deleone (Fort Collins, Colo.) got his first goal of the season off an assist from outside back Lucas Russo (São Paulo, Brazil). The game remained tied until the end of regulation, forcing the teams to continue the battle into overtime. 

Denver controlled most of the extra time but still fell short when the Panthers scored the winning goal in the 108th minute. This game was Denver’s first multi-goal match of the season and the team looks to continue this trend as they host Pacific on Sunday Oct. 13th.