SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Just three weekends into the Summit League men's soccer slate, and none of the seven teams remain unbeaten. Denver made certain of that by handing Delaware its first loss the season with a 2-0 victory in the Mile High City last Saturday.
It also marked the first time the Blue Hens had been blanked this year, while Denver and goalkeeper Issac Nehme registered the program's first clean sheet since the season opener against Washington. The win propelled the Pioneers into a share of first place in the Summit standings with six spots, alongside a Kansas City squad they defeated earlier in the season.
Denver is idle from Summit play this weekend but the Pioneers will be tested once again with a road clash at (9/3) Virginia, which is 7-1-4 overall and 3-0-3 in an ultra-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference that boasts five teams in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll and six in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 poll, including four of the top five.
The Roos and Tommies will cap a three-match slate Saturday on the Summit League Network with a 7 p.m. CT kickoff. Oral Roberts and UMass get things started on SLN at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT, while Omaha and Delaware square off at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT. The latter two matches pit first-time matchups for Oral Roberts and Omaha against the league's newcomers.
Saturday, Oct. 18 | TV/Stream
Oral Roberts at UMass* | SLN 12 p.m. ET
Omaha at Delaware* | SLN 6 p.m. ET
St. Thomas at Kansas City* | SLN 7 p.m. CT
Sunday, Oct. 19 | TV/Stream
(RV/NR) Denver at (9/3) Virginia | ACCNX 5 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Oct. 21 | TV/Stream
Dartmouth at UMass | SLN 3 p.m. ET
St. Thomas at Green Bay 5 p.m. CT
Wednesday, Oct. 22 | TV/Stream
Kansas City at Tulsa | ESPN+ 7 p.m. CT
Saturday, Oct. 25 | TV/Stream
UMass at St. Thomas* | SLN 12 p.m. CT
Denver at Omaha* | SLN 2:30 p.m. CT
Delaware at Oral Roberts* | SLN 7 p.m. CT
*Summit League match
Top 25 Rankings (United Soccer Coaches/Top Drawer)
Key: ACCNX (ACC Network Xtra), ESPN+ (ESPN Plus), ESPNU (Linear), NEC (NEC Front Row), NIUAA (NIU All-Access), SLN (Summit League Network)
RESULTS
Saturday, Oct. 4
UMass 2, Denver 1*
St. Thomas 2, Oral Roberts 1*
Kansas City 1, Omaha 0*
Tuesday, Oct. 7
Denver 2, (14/20) Georgetown 1
Oral Roberts 1, Tulsa 0
Saturday, Oct. 11
UMass 1, Omaha 1*
Denver 2, (RV/24) Delaware 0*
North Carolina 4, St. Thomas 0
Kansas City 1, Oral Roberts 0*
Tuesday, Oct. 14
Delaware 10, Neumann 0
(RV/NR) Denver 0, Pitt 0
Omaha 5, UTRGV 1
AROUND THE LEAGUE
• Denver dealt Delaware its first loss of the season following a 2-0 blanking of the Blue Hens. Pio forward Bryce Willoughby opened the scoring in the 38th minute to briefly pull into a share of the team lead in goals.
• Kyle McGowan would break that tie with his fourth of the season as his 60th minute tally doubled DU’s advantage.
• Denver goalkeeper Issac Nehme made five saves and would secure his second straight shutout as the Pioneers earned a 0-0 draw at Pitt, who made the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals a season ago.
• The shutouts were the first for the Pioneers since a 2-0 win in their season opener against Washington. Nehme now has 32 career shutouts, which are the second most in Summit League history to the 34 registered by Oakland’s Mike Skolnik (1998-2001).
•The Pioneers, who has vaulted to No. 26 in the RPI, will face another tough road test Sunday when DU faces (9/3) Virginina, who is 7-1-3 on the campaign.
• After suffering its first loss and shutout of the season, Delaware’s offense responded by breaking a single-game program record with 10 goals in a win over Neumann.
• Mikey Johnson (4) and Richard Monath (3) combined for seven goals, while Marius Stenner tied a Summit League single-match record with four assists to pace the offense that had the Blue Hens ahead 7-0 by halftime. Johnson and Monath became the first Summit League teammates to record hat tricks in the same match in conference history.
• With their 10-goal output, Delaware now tops the Division I charts in goals per game at 3.17 and shares the top spot in assists per game with Duke at 3.42.
• UMass and Omaha played to a 1-1 draw in the first meeting between the two programs. There were nearly 80 minutes between the two goals after Italo Jenkins put the Mavericks ahead 1-0 in the second minute and Brad Moccio tallied the equalizer in the 83rd minute.
• The Mavericks are 3-1-1 over their last five matches after starting 0-5-2. Theo Klein recorded his fifth career brace in Omaha’s 5-1 victory over UTRGV Tuesday.
• Omaha will travel to Delaware Saturday to face the Blue Hens for the first time. UD is 6-0-0 on its home field this season.
• Reigning Summit League Offensive Player of the Year Elie Kisoka delivered the game-winner for Kansas City in the Roos’ 1-0 shutout of Oral Roberts. Kisoka, who has been limited to nine appearances and just three starts this season, headed home his first goal of the campaign off a corner kick from Bryce Outman in the 87th minute.
• The Roos, who are currently tied with Denver at the top of the league table with six points, face St. Thomas in a home match. The Tommies had a break last Saturday from league action, falling at North Carolina 4-0 after the Tar Heels broke open a match that was scoreless at the break.
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