A confident bunch of soccer Pioneers (8-0-1) imposed their will on the South Florida Bulls Tuesday night at CIBER field. In a showdown of highly ranked opponents, the Pioneers proved to be up to the task. After a 0-0 draw in the first half, DU took control and scored nifty goal by Karsten Hanlin in front of a large Tuesday night crowd.
Inside Magness at the Hamilton Gym, the volleyball team (14-4) dispatched the North Dakota State Bison 3-0 and came out to watch the second half of the soccer match.
The evening proved that the soccer program is 'for real' with defense, firepower, and strong coaching. Will there be a let-down in Summit League play and will league play prepare them for a likely NCAA playoff appearance?
As for the volleyball program, they continue on the rise with a solid victory. If they can continue winning at home and splitting on the road, they have a chance at a Summit title with a very young team.
A great evening to be a Pioneer fan.
6 comments:
Huge soccer win for the Pios tonight. As Puck Swami pointed out on Facebook spirit page, there are over 200 teams in D-I soccer, compared to 60 in men's hockey, 70 in mens lacrosse and 23 in skiing.
To be in the NCAA top 10 is pretty amazing achievement, especially with a rookie head coach who is the youngest coach in D-1 at age 28. Probably comparable to our top 5 ranking in women's golf several years ago
I don't see a let down in Summit play. Summit mate UNO is also a ranked team and will be another barn burner at ciber. Oral Roberts won't be easy in Tulsa.
Plus we still have a non-league games left against Gonzaga (home) and U of Portland (road).
Great ladies golf analogy Anonymous #1. I've always argued that the women's winning a regional and finishing #5 in NCAA's is a accomplishment of enormous proportions. (we won 1 of the 3 Regionals which made us arguably a top 3 team national) There are at least 250 women's golf teams and so many are in warm weather locales. It's a major sport in the Power 5 conferences (Rutgers excluded as always) Our #5 team belongs in the DU Hall of Fame.
I took at look at last year's NCAA men's soccer draw. It appears the top 16 get a bye and a home game. (potential opponents plays 2 days earlier at site of seeded team) If we can somehow make it to season end w/o a loss, we get a high seed, I'd guess 5-8. However, I'm not convinced that with a loss we can retain a top 16 seed. We are the new kids on the block in this lofty territory.
Great win. Amazing to see this team do so well.
Puck Swami said:
I am with you, dunker. I think DU pretty much has get through the end of the season without a loss to retain a top 16 seed, due to some of the lower-level Summit league teams still to play. The key will be if the Pios can minimize ties and continue to win. Gonzaga #29 RPI, Portland #95 RPI and Omaha #80 RPI are the toughest teams remaining on the DU schedule, with Gonzaga and Omaha at home. The Omaha game conflicts with DU hockey vs MSU during homecoming, so the biggest game for DU fans to come out and watch is the Gonzaga game, which is Monday, Oct. 5.
Really strange development, with the soccer team in the top 10. Expectations weren't super high this year. Although they were coming off an NCAA appearance, their record last year (11-8-2) was pretty close to .500. They seemed to be a program that for years to come would occasionally flirt with a top 20 ranking, and that was about it. Having a new, super-young, and unproven coach didn't bode too well, either. But here we are. If the team flames out this season, I don't think this top-10 ranking will do too much to elevate the program. They need sustained success over the course of the season (no bad losses to bad league teams, and win two wins in the NCAA tourney) to keep raising eyebrows, and to keep DU on the radar of higher-level recruits that they need to really raise the program a notch.
In any case, great job to the Pioneer soccer team. Pretty amazing the athletic success that our small school continues to enjoy.
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