The No. 14 University of Denver men’s soccer team traveled over two hours on Friday to take on the No. 11 University of Portland Pilots in an intense match for the books.
The DU men’s team showed the world that soccer isn’t just a sport, but requires incredible collaborative efforts that showed through despite their crushing 2-4 loss.
The game began with an intense struggle down midfield as the teams battled for possession of the ball to move it forward. The Crimson and Gold shined in this early stage of the game, locking down the middle, but were quickly thwarted by a corner from the Portland Pilots after 15 minutes of gameplay.
Junior defender Jason Belloli combatted this early corner with ease, however, and made an out of this world save to keep Denver moving forward. A continued trend throughout the game was the brilliant efforts by the defensive line and sophomore goalie Isaac Nehme, who was a power player for DU.
This adrenaline was not soon left behind, as with only 15 minutes remaining in the first half, junior midfielder Sam Bassett came through with a clean shot assisted by junior forward Oje Ofunrein, which sailed straight through the legs of the Pilot’s goalie Miguel-Angel Hernandez.
Denver used this lead to pick up the pace, starting with great pressure right after the kickoff. The defensive line, however, never settled as Nehme made another incredible save with some beyond-belief positioning that left him prepared to save the incoming cross from the Pilots.
The second part of the first half started with defensive pressure for the Crimson and Gold, as a shot on goal by Portland was quickly collapsed on by redshirt sophomore midfielder Jake Smith and sophomore midfielder Holger Olsson.
Denver quickly responded with a shot on goal by Bassett, demonstrating a moment when classic Denver communication shone through.
The midfield and backline almost telepathically sought for open space, looking for any opportunity to push forward. And while this was initially unsuccessful, Denver came through with undisturbed defense to combat the offensive push by Portland. This, however, was not enough as with just under 10 minutes on the clock, Portland pushed forward with a great goal by senior forward Samory Powder.
The rest of the half challenged Denver’s defensive line to its extremes. The open communication between DU’s back and mid lines led to a clean offensive escape, but it was unfortunately foiled by the Pilot’s solid defensive line. Portland came back for blood with an indefectible breakaway moving swiftly towards the goal, but the strong DU defensive line shut it down before a shot on goal could get off.
After half time, the second half began with nothing short of vengeance from Denver as, within not even a minute of the half starting, Bassett scored his second of the game with an assist from senior midfielder Lukas Fisher and sophomore defender Dylan Akau. The half continued with impeccable keeping and correspondence from Nehme, along with strong defensive and offensive control to keep the play moving forward. DU’s defensive line never wavered, and when Portland got a shot on goal with 30 minutes left in the half, Akau and Fisher were able to stop it.
The next few minutes tested Nehme, who made astronomical saves with 24 minutes remaining in the half. However, his efforts were stopped when Portland got a corner in the box, which was originally saved by Nehme, but the rebound came in far too quickly for the defensive line to react. Portland tied up the score at two with 23 minutes remaining.
However, the Crimson and Gold continued to move forward, and not even two minutes after Portland’s tie were able to get a shot on goal moving straight into their offensive half. With three incredible saves not even 10 minutes apart, Nehme continued to put his entire body towards the ball with cat-like coordination to stop Portland’s lead. However, not even Nehme’s keeping was able to stop another shot straight into the bottom half of Denver’s goal via a header from Portland’s own Jose Olmos. With 14 minutes remaining, the Crimson and Gold was down by one goal.
Another turnover led to a fourth goal by Portland not even two minutes later when Nehme stepped out of the goal for the save by Portland’s junior forward Buba Fofanah.
DU’s final shot on goal, with only two minutes remaining, was made with great agency by graduate midfielder Aidan O’Toole, but it was not enough to even the score.
The Crimson and Gold will be traveling to Seattle, Washington to compete against the Seattle University Redhawks on Monday Sept. 18, looking to get back into the win category.
