On Sept. 20, the Denver men’s soccer team took on the Oregon State Beavers in an entertaining match that was full of action. In a back-and-forth pace, DU played with only 10 players for 50 minutes of the match but ultimately fell short 2-1 to the Beavers.
The first 15 minutes of the match saw a stagnant start as both teams did not create any offensive momentum. Both teams tried to establish clear possession with numerous passes, but pressure from both sides caused many turnovers during the first stage of the game. The first shot from Denver came at the 19-minute mark from graduate student forward Stefan DeLeone (Fort Collins, Colo.), which was saved with ease by the Beaver goalkeeper. Denver would only have one more shot for the rest of the half.
Things got interesting at the 41-minute mark. Graduate student defender Lucas Russo (São Paulo, Brazil) was in a scramble for a ball towards the middle of the field when he was pushed over by an Oregon State player. Russo then got up from the ground, swatted away a hand that was on his neck, and accidentally struck an Oregon State player who fell to the ground. Russo was issued a red card and ejected from the contest. There were many objections to the call from the home DU crowd, and Denver would have to play the rest of the game with 10 players.
This did not dishearten the Crimson and Gold as they would be the first to score in the match. At the 51-minute mark, a highlight reel goal was scored by sophomore forward Oje Ofunrein (Round Rock, Texas) off of a laser cross from junior defender Ronan Wynne (Auckland, New Zealand). Wynee dribbled the ball up the field and pinpointed Ofunerin, who finished a beautiful header into the back of the Beavers’ defending net. This was the first collegiate goal of Ofunrein’s career and the second assist for Wynee’s 2022 season. The goal was featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter and made the top-10 segment at the number eight spot.
But the early success for DU in the second half did not mean the game would be over. Oregon State would go on to score two goals at the 68 and 80-minute mark and defeat DU 2-1. Head coach Jamie Franks still had good things to say after the game despite the loss.
“I was really proud of the group’s grit, their collectiveness and their proactiveness in the game tonight,” Franks said. “When you go into the locker room and you have guys that believe in each other and believe in themselves, you can get results.”
Following a 1-0 win against Oral Roberts on Saturday in the team’s conference home opener, the Crimson and Gold will hit the road for a four-game road trip starting at Omaha on Oct. 1.
