SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Summit League opened the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a pair of shutouts on Thursday as Denver and Kansas City both blanked their opening-round opponents. The Pioneers defeated UC Irvine 2-0, while the Roos took down Lindenwood 1-0 to give the league a pair of opening-round wins for the first time in history.
Next up for the duo is Sunday road matches at national seeds, who had byes in the opening round. Denver will be at No. 8 Portland, who the Pioneers met in the regular season. The Pilots held off a late DU surge to post a 3-2 victory.
The Roos will also travel to the west coast to face No. 12 Stanford in what will be the first meeting between the two squads. The Cardinal did square off against DU earlier in the campaign defeating the Pios 2-1 in the opening week of the season.
These two will try to give the Summit League a pair of teams in the third round for the second straight year.
2025 NCAA TOURNAMENT
Thursday, Nov. 20
First Round | Portland Region
(RV/NR) Denver 2, UC Irvine 0
First Round | Stanford Region
(21/NR) Kansas City 1, Lindenwood
Sunday, Nov. 23
Second Round | Portland Region
Denver vs. No. 8 (6/10) Portland | ESPN+ | 6 p.m. PT
Second Round | Stanford Region
Kansas City vs. No. 12 (8/19) Stanford | ESPN+ | 5 p.m. PT
2025 SL CHAMPIONSHIP REWIND
CHAMPIONSHIP
(1) Denver 4, (2) Kansas City 2 | Nov. 15
Top-seeded Denver captures title with 4-2 win over KC
• The six combined goals broke a Summit League Tournament single-match record and DU’s eight tournament goals also established a new record
• Sophomore Keegan Kelly opened the scoring in the second minute with his fifth goal in DU’s last three matches, including four in the postseason
• Junior Kyle McGowan scored twice from the penalty spot for Denver to record his second brace of the season
• Midfielder Will King’s unassisted tally in the 64th minute proved to be the game-winner
• Forward Jeremy Francou scored both goals for KC to push his season total to 11
SEMIFINALS
(1) Denver 4, (4) Oral Roberts 1 | Nov. 9
Kelly’s hat trick lifts top-seeded Denver into title match
• Denver’s four goals match the most scored by the program in a Summit League Tournament match when the Pioneers blanked Western Illinois 4-0 in the 2015 semifinals
• Denver trailed 1-0 before erupting for four goals in the final 23 minutes
• Sophomore Keegan Kelly scored the final three to secure his first career hat trick and the eighth in Summit League Championship history
• Jeff Mesidor scored his first goal of the season from the penatly spot in the 37th minute
(2) Kansas City 2, (3) Delaware 0 | Nov. 9
Second-seeded Roos blank Blue Hens to reach title match
• Graduate student Wade Muttitt broke a scoreless tie for the Roos with his 39th-minute goal
• Freshman goalkeeper Marc Popow made seven saves, including four in the first half to record his seventh shutout of the season -- it was just the third time Delaware (12-2-3) had been blanked all season
• Junior Jeremy Francou added an insurance goal in the 87th minute, which was his team-leading ninth of the season
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Team | All-Time Tournament Record | Furthest Run
Denver | 11-11-2, 10-8-2 (as SL member) | College Cup (2016, 2024)
• With a 2-1 first-round win over UC Irvine, DU has now won at least a game in five consecutive NCAA Tournaments
• The Pioneers matched their deepest run in program history, advancing to the 2024 College Cup as the No. 3 national seed
• This will be DU’s 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and fifth straight
• The program’s 10 NCAA Tournament wins are more than the rest of the Summit League combined -- remaining current and former members in postseason have eight combined victories
• After starting 0-2-1 in first-round matches, Denver has won four straight
• DU has scored three goals in a NCAA Tournament match four different times, doing so twice in each of its runs to the College Cup -- 2016 and 2024
Kansas City | 3-4 | Third Round (2024)
• The Roos made their deepest run a season ago, winning road games in rounds one and two to be one of the final 16 teams in the field
• The program is making its fifth appearance in the postseason event and snapped a three-match losing streak with an opening-round win over Saint Louis in 2024
• With a 1-0 win over Lindenwood Thursday, Kansas City is now 3-2 in first-round matches and have won games in consecutive tournaments for the first time in program history
• The Roos were the first Summit League program besides Denver to win a second-round match when they defeated No. 15 national seed Missouri State, 2-1, in 2024 -- they are 1-1 now all-time in second-round contests
2024 NCAA TOURNAMENT REWIND
DENVER | No. 3 National Seed (At-Large)
• Denver defeated Gardner Webb (3-0) in the second round, No. 14 national seed Indiana (1-0) in the third round and UMass (3-0) in the quarterfinals to advance to the program’s second College Cup (2016).
• The Pioneers fell in penalty kicks to eventual national champion Vermont after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in regulation. The Catamounts advanced via a 4-3 edge in PKs.
• MAC Herman Award finalist Sam Bassett scored for the Pioneers in the semifinal match with the Catamounts. He also had three assists during the tournament.
• The DU men’s soccer program had been the only previous Summit League team to make the national semifinals before returning a season ago. The 2023 Oral Roberts baseball team advanced to the 2023 Men’s College World Series.
• Sophomore Keegan Kelly, who was named the 2025 Summit League Championship MVP, had two goals and an assist during DU’s NCAA Tournament run a season ago.
KANSAS CITY | Summit League Tournament Champion (AQ)
• The Roos returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008 and made the program’s furthest run, advancing to the third round. KC had won just once in NCAA postseason play before its historic run in 2024.
• Kansas City opened tournament play with a 2-0 win at Saint Louis, scoring a pair of second-half goals to oust the Bilikens.
• In round two, the Roos rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to knock off No. 15 national seed Missouri State, 2-1. Ales Kohoutek’s first goal of the season in the 72nd minute proved to be the game winner.
• In third round play at No. 2 national seed Pitt, Kansas City opened the scoring in the sixth minute, fell behind 2-1, then squared things at 2-2 with a goal from Guille Munoz in the 74th minute. However, it would be the Panthers who would get the golden goal in the 98th minute from Albert Thorsen to advance to the quarterfinals.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
• With Denver’s 2-0 win over UC Irivne, the Summit League has now won at least one match in each of the last six NCAA Tournaments.
• With Kansas City’s 1-0 win over Lindenwood later Thursday, it marked the first time in history that Summit squads won multiple first-round matches in the same season.
• It was also the first time in Summit League history that two teams hosted a first round NCAA Tournament game in the same season.
• Denver will play No. 8 national seed Portland for the second time this season. The Pioneers fell to the Pilots 3-2 in the Rose City on Sept. 19. Kansas City also faced the Pilots earlier in the season, falling 1-0 to the West Coast Conference runner-up.
• The Roos will face No. 12 national seed Stanford, who played Denver earlier in the campaign. The Cardinal defeated the Pios 2-1 on Aug. 24.
• This marks the third straight year that the Summit League will have multiple teams in the NCAA Tournament. Prior to 2023 when Omaha and Denver both made the field, the last time the league had multiple teams was in 2008.
• Denver senior Isaac Nehme became the first player in Summit League history to be named the Goalkeeper of the Year in three consecutive seasons.
• In the Pioneers’ 2-0 clean sheet of UC Irvine, the Colorado Springs native broke for the Summit League record for career shutouts with the 35th of his career.
• Nehme has recorded five of those shutouts in NCAA Tournament play, including three last season during DU’s run to the College Cup.
• Nehme registered three of those clean sheets in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, posting shutouts against Gardner Webb, Indiana and UMass.
• DU forward Kyle McGowan scored the opener for the Pioneers against the Anteaters to record his 10th tally of the season. With the goal, he became the seventh player in program history to eclipse double-digit goals in a season.
• Forward Keegan Kelly improved his point-scoring streak to four straight as he assisted on Luke Schultz’ insurance goal 3:17 following McGowan’s strike.
• Sophomore Kevin Nkumu scored his first career goal in the 54th minute against Lindenwood, finishing off a cross from Joackim Betina.
• Freshman Marc Popow only had to make one save to record the eighth shutout of his first collegiate season. He trails only fellow Summit Leaguer JoJo Elliott of Delaware for the national lead among freshmen.
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