Box Score

MACOMB, Ill. – The University of Denver women’s soccer team got three goals from three different underclassmen to send the Pioneers past Western Illinois 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at John MacKenzie Alumni Field. Following Sunday’s results, South Dakota State and Denver are level on points in the Summit League standings with one match left to play. SDSU heads to North Dakota Friday, while the Pioneers host Oral Roberts on Saturday.

“Today was one of those days where it was going to be difficult to get points on the road,” head coach Jeff Hooker said. “Western Illinois came out and played hard, and made it difficult for us at times in the first half. I thought that we were a little sluggish in the first half, and not as sharp as normal. After halftime I thought we responded well and played some good soccer and were rewarded for it. It was nice to see Abbey get her first career goal off an assist from Cheyenne. We will take the three points and go into our final league match ready for a chance to win at least a share of a conference title depending on the other results before us.”

Denver took the lead right on 18 minutes as freshman Samantha Feller (Grand Junction, Colo.) got back on the scoresheet for the first time since October 4 at North Dakota State with her seventh goal of the season to put the Pioneers in-front. Feller finished a cross from the left from freshman Natalie Beckman (Denver, Colo.) to earn her classmate her fifth assist of the 2018 campaign.

Sophomore Meg Halvorson (Englewood, Colo.) earned Denver its second goal in the 67^th minute, firing a 22-yard laser into the top corner for her sixth goal of the season and the 11^th of her career.

Freshman Abbey Miller (Dallas, Texas), who entered the match having played 43 minutes in four appearances, scored a third goal for the Pioneers to open her collegiate account. Beckman started the sequence with Denver’s ninth corner of the afternoon. Junior centerback Cheyenne Shorts (Denver, Colo.) won the Beckman corner in the air, and Miller got her foot on the end of the bouncing ball to bury her first goal. Shorts’ assist was the third of her three-year Pioneer career.

Heading into the season finale next Saturday, Denver has 15 goals this season from freshmen and 21 of the last 26 goals have been scored by underclassmen, including all three on Sunday afternoon in Macomb.

Junior Brittany Wilson (Littleton, Colo.) made two saves in her seventh shutout of the season and the 14^th of her Pioneer career.