Pioneers Down UALR 2-0

October 23, 2011

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  - University of Denver sophomore forward Kristen Hamilton(Littleton, Colo.) scored two goals and junior goalkeeper Lara Campbell (Anchorage, Alaska) turned in her fourth shutout of the season, propelling the Pioneers to a 2-0 win over Arkansas-Little Rock on Sunday afternoon.

"Taking into account all of the illnesses our team has suffered this weekend, we are very happy to get out of here with a 2-0 win," said head coach Jeff Hooker, who had several players suffering from flu-like symptoms. "They (UALR) were playing for a lot of counter attacks, and I thought that we did a good job of team defending to recognize when they were trying to counter. We were able to limit the quality of the chances that they did produce inside our penalty area."

The Pioneers (15-3-0, 9-1-0 SBC) opened the scoring in the 18th minute when sophomore defender Cassidy Larson (Eldorado Springs, Colo.) slid a pass into the box to Hamilton's feet. The sophomore forward turned around and fired a shot past the keeper inside the right post to give DU the lead.

In the 68th minute, freshman midfielder Anna Willis (Centennial, Colo.) made a nice move to beat her defender inside the box and found a running Hamilton, who made it 2-0 on her 15th goal of the season.

Hamilton's 15 goals move her into a tie for fourth in Denver's single-season record book, just two shy of the DU record.  This afternoon's performance also raised her point tally to 38, which places her in fifth for points in a single-season. Annette Wagner set the Pioneers record with 43 points in 1989.

Campbell made five saves in the Pioneers ninth team shutout this season.

The Pioneers held a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks over the Trojans (7-12-0, 3-7-0 SBC) and outshot UALR, 16-8.

Denver's regular season finale will take place in Denton, Texas, on Friday at 6 p.m. MT, as the Pioneers take on North Texas.

In other SBC action this afternoon, North Texas drew at Arkansas State 1-1, while Florida International and Louisiana-Lafayette played to a 1-1 draw. Based on today's results, if the Pioneers win or draw at North Texas, DU would capture its second consecutive SBC regular season title, and its third in the last four seasons.  

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