On Oct. 29, the University of Denver women’s soccer team played against South Dakota. After going to double overtime, the Crimson and Gold settled for a 1-1 tie with the Coyotes.
Even before the clock started, DU came out full of energy and ready to dominate. Coach Jeff Hooker said that the team focuses on “how we’re going to play and how we’re going to dictate the pace of the game.” Right before the clock started, the team shared an intense and fierce huddle, showing that they meant business.
In past matches, the Crimson and Gold have a seven-game winning streak against the Coyotes and have a record of 9-1 in their last 10 matchups. In conference play, the team remains undefeated.
At the 39 minute mark, South Dakota got a steal and attempted to go in for the goal, but goalkeeper Nerea Arrazola (Issaquah, Wash.) snagged it just in time.
Twenty-nine minutes later, both teams remained scoreless—each squad presenting a solid defense. After a hard-fought offensive drive, South Dakota’s forward Maddison Sullivan (Rapid City, S.D.) scored the first goal with 17 minutes remaining in the half.
“It sucked to go down to them 1-0,” Hooker said, expressing his disappointment in the first half play.
Despite the players on and off the field seeming slightly stunned by the goal, the team stayed resilient, calm and level-headed.
Even after scoring, DU went back to being a “really good team,” said Hooker. They effectively applied pressure to their opponent, which allowed senior forward Natalie Beckman (Denver, Colo.) to score shortly before the first half ended. During his halftime speech, Hooker assured the team that he was proud of them for fighting back and getting the goal.
After halftime, one could see how unfazed the team was with South Dakota scoring a point in the first half. For Denver in the second half, it was all about keeping their balance throughout the play. As Hooker recalls it, it was important for the team to “keep their shape in the back, refraining South Dakota to counterattack and potentially scoring.”
This defensive plan worked well considering that for the rest of the game South Dakota failed to score. However, without an imbalance to sway the scales, neither did Denver.
With the tie under their belt, Denver remains the No. 1 seed in the conference, but South Dakota State is looking to steal that Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.
As coach Hooker mentioned, the team will “be conference champions no matter what.” The Crimson and Gold are looking to come out sharper in their upcoming match, taking advantage of all the opportunities to score. Hooker hopes that the speech given in practice will stick in the players’ heads and remind them to play freely in their last match of the regular season.
“You can’t control the wins and the losses, you can only control how you play,” said Hooker in his closing remarks.
Senior night will be the last home game for the Crimson and Gold as they look to seal in the No. 1 seed on Halloween.
