The University of Denver men’s soccer team took on the St. Thomas Tommies in a road conference matchup in St. Paul, Minn. on Oct. 8. A multitude of penalties and a strong defensive showing from both squads led the game to result in a 0-0 tie.
St. Thomas had a fluid offense and wasted no time going into Denver territory. The fast-paced Crimson and Gold responded with precise passing leading to a corner kick in St. Thomas territory.
St.Thomas played aggressively and got many fouls. The Tommies were issued a yellow card, and DU was granted a penalty shot. Sophomore midfielder Sam Bassett (Littleton, Colo.) kicked a penalty shot into the goal but could not score due to the strong goaltending from St.Thomas.
A very intense first half continued with Denver, who began fouling hard at midfield and got a yellow card of their own, with St.Thomas kicking a penalty shot that was blocked to keep the game at a stalemate. The shot at 6:04 was on goal and was made, but was later rescinded due to the St.Thomas player being too close to the goal.
With fouls continuing from both sides a half hour into the game, Denver kicked a penalty shot into the left of the goalpost, with another save made by Bassett.
By the last minute of the first half, both teams were neck and neck in the game, but DU had three corner kicks and three shots on goal. St.Thomas has 1 shot on goal and no corner kicks.
Starting in the second half, DU had 11 shots on goal to St. Thomas’ one. Denver also held the corner kick advantage with six to the Tommies’ one.
A shot at 14:28 went far left into the graduate student goalie Will DeSantis (Salt Lake City, Utah), who made a speedy dive to save the ball.
In the last-minute effort, St.Thomas got the steal from Denver with a strong push to get a score but does not convert. A final showing from Bassett in the final two minutes sealed the 0-0 tie.
Following another tie on the road against Pittsburgh, Denver will return home to take on the Kansas City Roos on Saturday night, where the team will also hold Alumni Night.
