The University of Denver’s men’s soccer won two big games last week, upsetting No. 14 Georgetown on the road 2-1 on Oct. 7, then coming home to beat undefeated Summit League opponent No. 24 Delaware on Oct. 11.
Georgetown started strong in the first half. During their relentless early attack, Max Viera got the ball in the box where he was brought down by redshirt junior forward Kyle McGowan. The referee called a penalty, which was slotted into the bottom right corner by Zach Zengue in the 18th minute.
Denver responded immediately by winning a corner which was taken by redshirt sophomore midfielder Luke Schultz. He found redshirt senior defender Trevor Wright wide open at the edge of the six yard box who put a powerful header into the back of the net to even the score at 1-1 in the 19th minute.
The game was back and forth between the two sides until late in the second half when Viera was sent off for headbutting sophomore forward Keegan Kelly after a foul. This red card accompanied five yellow cards from both sides that were given during the game.
A man up, Denver found momentum in the final stages of the game. In the final minute, they had a free kick in a dangerous position. Schultz opted to cross the ball, but it bounced past everyone and into the goal to win the game 2-1.
After the big upset against Georgetown, Denver went into Saturday’s game against Delaware with confidence.
Their confidence showed from the start and in the 38th minute of the game, they finally broke through. Kelly passed the ball off to redshirt junior forward Bryce Willoughby who dribbled down the middle and slipped the ball under the legs of the keeper, Jojo Elliot, to put Denver up 1-0.
In the 60th minute, freshman defender Eric Collins made a quick stepover at the top of the box and passed the ball to McGowan who knocked it in with the help of a deflection to extend the lead to 2-0.
Denver defended well after their second goal and managed to close out the game for the win.
This win pushed their record to 7-6 overall and 2-1 in the Summit League. Their next game will be on the road against Pittsburgh on Oct. 14 as they look to extend their winning streak.
