SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The opening weekend of the men's college season saw Summit League squads earn eight results, including six victories as all five members secured points.
Preseason favorite Denver and Omaha both went 2-0 to open their campaigns. The Pioneers picked up a pair of road wins at ACC foes, knocking off Cal 2-1 before blanking (5/4) Stanford 1-0. Those victories moved DU up to No. 9 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll and No. 9 in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 poll.
The Mavericks ousted Oakland 2-1 on the road before returning home to rally for a 3-2 win over Florida Atlantic.
Kansas City also went unbeaten at 1-0-1, St. Thomas earned a home win over Northern Illinois and Oral Roberts managed a draw at (10/10) SMU after falling by just a goal in its opener at (RV/22) Kentucky.
UPCOMING
Thursday, Aug. 29 | TV/Stream | Local Time
DePaul at St. Thomas | SLN | 1 p.m.
San Francisco at Omaha | SLN | 4 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara at Kansas City | SLN | 8 p.m.
(9/4) Denver at Washington | B1G+ | 7:30 p.m.
Cal Poly at Oral Roberts | SLN | 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 1 | TV/Stream
Loyola Chicago at Omaha | SLN | 1 p.m.
(9/4) Denver at (RV/16) SMU | ACCX | 6 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara at Oral Roberts | SLN | 7 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 2 | TV/Stream
St. Thomas at Milwaukee | 5 p.m.
Kansas City at Missouri State | ESPN+ | 7 p.m.
National Rankings (United Soccer Coaches/Top Drawer)
Key: ACCX (ACC Network Xtra), B1G+ (Big Ten Plus), ESPN+ (ESPN Plus), FLO (Flosports), GGV (Golden Grizzly Video), SLN (Summit League Network)
RESULTS
Thursday, Aug. 22
St. Thomas 1, Northern Illinois 0
(RV/15) Denver 2, California 1
Kansas City 1, St. Mary's (Calif.) 0
Omaha 2, Oakland 1
(RV/22) Kentucky 3, Oral Roberts 2
Saturday, Aug. 24
Kansas City 2, San Francisco 2
Sunday, Aug. 25
(RV/15) Denver 1, (5/4) Stanford 0
Gonzaga 6, St. Thomas 1
Oral Roberts 1, (10/10) SMU 1
Omaha 3, Florida Atlantic 2
National Rankings (United Soccer Coaches/Top Drawer)
AROUND THE LEAGUE
• Freshman Keegan Kelly scored in both matches for DU and hit the game-winner from outside the box against the Cardinal to earn a share of the first Offensive Peak Performer of the Week award.
• Junior Ian Smith helped DU limit Stanford without a shot on goal in the closing 71 minutes of that match and had the game-winning goal for the Pios against Cal. He earned the Defensive Peak Performer of the Week honor for his efforts after the Pioneers surrendered just four total shots on target during the opening weekend.
• Midfielder Sam Bassett recorded assists on both of DU's goal against the Bears and earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week.
• With the two victories, DU moved into the United Soccer Coaches poll at No. 9 this week, while vaulting up 11 spots in the Top Drawer Soccer poll to No. 4.
• For DU head coach Jamie Franks, it was his 10th win against a Power-4 program and first over a top-five team since 2018.
• The Pioneers, fourth, Omaha, sixth and Oral Roberts, seventh, were all ranked in the initial USC West Region Top 10. The Golden Eagles fell 3-2 at (RV/22) Kentucky before earning a 1-1 draw with (10/10) SMU last week.
• Junior Omar Mora scored twice in his ORU debut against the Wildcats. Senior Jose Estrada had the tally in the draw with the Mustangs.
• The Mavericks picked up a road win and rallied for a 3-2 win in their home opener against Florida Atlantic. Theo Klein scored twice and assisted on the game-winning goal against the Owls.
• Kansas City earned a pair of results on its season-opening road trip to California.
• Junior Elsi Kisoka made a sparkling debut, sending home the game-winner in the 84th minute in a 1-0 win at St. Mary's, then scoring the equalizer in the 84th minute of a 2-2 draw with San Francisco. He also assisted on KC's first goal as the Roos rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the final 20 minutes. He shared the offensive weekly accolade with DU's Kelly.
• St. Thomas opened up its campaign with a 1-0 win over Northern Illinois. Freshman John Bence scored on a free kick in the 67th minute to provide the game-winner for the Tommies.
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