In their second Summit League game of the season, DU men’s soccer faced their toughest conference foe in Oral Roberts.
Both teams comfortably won their conference openers, with each team keeping a clean sheet. Oral Roberts was ranked on the outskirts of the top 25 looking in on DU at the no. 19/17 slot and looked to make a statement in Saturday night’s contest.
However, neither side was able to get the statement victory they looked for, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw. The early going was dictated by the Golden Eagles, who looked dangerous in transition and forced a couple of solid saves out of sophomore goalkeeper Isaac Nehme.
After the first half an hour, the tide began to turn. Oral Roberts had the majority of the momentum and kept DU from making any threats to score. The Crimson and Gold began to turn up the heat on the Golden Eagles, peppering the goalkeeper with shots. Their spirited push bore its fruits with about six minutes to go in the first half, when DU got on the score sheet.
A pass from freshman defender Dominic Kallay gave sophomore defender Ian Smith the space and time to pick out sophomore midfielder David Biggers, who headed Smith’s cross into the back of the net. Biggers first goal of the season was a clutch one and gave DU all the momentum heading into the half.
The game began to come to life in the second half, with both teams showing much more of a threat offensively. Biggers almost bagged a brace early in the second half, when his diving header was just barely rejected by Golden Eagles goalkeeper Jakub Grzesiak. Oral Roberts also forced Nehme into some quality saves, as back-and-forth action characterized the second half.
DU had two spectacular chances to tack on an insurance goal in the second half, but both were cleared off the line by Golden Eagles defenders. Freshman forward Bryce Willoughby was the first DU attacker to have his effort cleared away by an Oral Roberts defender. Then minutes later, sophomore midfielder Holger Olsson saw his effort on goal cleared off the line.
The Golden Eagles also knocked on the door, hitting the post on one occasion and blazing multiple opportunities just over the bar. For a while, it looked like the Crimson and Gold were going to get a hard-fought victory against a high-quality opponent, but late in the second half, they weren’t able to keep Oral Roberts out.
With just under seven minutes remaining, Jose Estrada broke the hearts of the Denver crowd, scoring a late equalizer, following a couple of minutes of sustained Golden Eagles pressure. Estrada’s strike made it a 1-1 game, and after that, it seemed like the two sides were both content to settle for a draw, with neither pushing the envelope much.
The game would end 1-1, giving DU their fourth draw of the season, something the Crimson and Gold will need to improve as they can’t afford to keep points on the board.
DU’s next two games will be on the road, with their next game coming on Oct. 7 when they will travel to face the University of Kansas City.
