Box Score SAN DIEGO– The University of Denver women's soccer team dropped its final non-conference contest of the regular season, falling 2-1 at San Diego on Saturday night at Torero Stadium.  
 
Scoring Summary:
DEN (5-5-0): Sharp 20'
USD (5-4-0): Foster 66' (pen), Scholten 78'
 
Quotable – Head Coach Jeff Hooker:
"I thought we had a lot of good fight out there tonight. We were really, really good for a majority of the night. Its cliché, but I thought we were unlucky tonight. A poor decision to go ground in the penalty area and one of the most unfortunate deflections to knock a ball that was going out right in-front of the net. Both mistakes were made with everyone focusing and playing as hard as they could to be in the right position and make a play for their team. I'm disappointed for the group because I thought we played well enough to earn points on the road tonight. We just found a different way to not come away with a result. We have to stay together as a team, because this group is super talented and can do great things, we just have to continue to focus on the quality of our performances, and the results will come."

First Half:
Denver capitalized off a good spell of play in the opening 45 minutes by opening the scoring in the 20^th minute, courtesy of Sydney Sharp's sixth goal of the season.
 
Natalie Beckman got the ball to Sami Feller 35 yards away from goal. Feller took a couple of dribbles forward before slipping in Sharp a couple of yards into the area. Sharp struck it first time and buried it into the bottom corner to give the Pioneers the lead just shy of the midway point of the first half.
 
The goal for Sharp is the 16^th of her career, and extends the junior's run of form to 10 goals in her last 17 games dating back to the last seven games of last season.
 
Denver outshot San Diego 9-4, including 4-1 on goal and took five of the six corners in the first half.
 
The Crimson and Gold featured 18 student-athletes in the opening 45 minutes, including Hannah Gallegos who played in her first match since leaving Denver's game against Kansas State three weeks ago early due to injury.
 
Second Half:
USD did get the leveler in the 66^th minute when Jordan Crockett was whistled for a foul just inside the penalty area and Michaela Foster converted from the spot to tie things up at 1-1.
 
Denver nearly took the lead back in the 67^th minute, but Feller's attempt from just inside the box deflected off the back of Sharp and didn't get through.
 
San Diego took the lead in the 78^th minute off a goal from Ariana Scholten. Malia Walencewicz played a ball across the six-yard box. The cross went off the heel of a Denver defender and Scholten was there to tap it in to give the home side the lead.
 
The Pioneers tried to find an equalizer of their own, but Sharp's chip over the keeper was cleared off the line by a San Diego defender in the 79^th minute to keep the Torero's ahead.
 
Glover had the next best look for Denver in the 83^rd, but her header from the right of the penalty spot was wide.
 
Denver had a couple late free kicks, but Beckman's first of two set pieces in the 90^th minute was deflected over the bar, and the second was cleared out for a corner which Denver didn't have the opportunity to take before time expired.
Notes:
Feller's assist in the first half brought her career points total to 77, moving her two points Jenna Billingsley for sixth on Denver's all-time list.
The assist was her eighth of the season and the 23^rd of her career, moving her one behind Kalie Vaughn for seventh on Denver's all-time career assist list. 

Up Next:
Denver will open Summit League play on Friday night when the Pioneers make the trip to Omaha. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT.
 
Tickets:
Denver men's and women's soccer single game tickets for the 2021 campaign are on sale now, and can be purchased here.
 
Coronavirus Updates
For the latest University of Denver updates on the coronavirus, click here.
 
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