SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Denver scored two goals in a 4:01 span over two halves to defeat the Sacramento State men's soccer team, 2-1, on Sunday, Oct. 19 at Hornet Soccer Field.
With the loss, the Hornets fall to 6-6-2, 1-4-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Play, while the Pioneers improve to 7-5-0 on the season, 5-0-0 inside the MPSF.
In an evenly played match that saw both teams have plenty of chances on goal, Denver was able to sandwich a pair of goals around the halftime intermission to take a 2-0 lead. With :19 seconds remaining in the first half, Joey Mathot hit a free kick from midfield that was flicked on by Colin Jones onto the awaiting right foot of Ryan Aweida, who tallied his second goal of the season to give the Pioneers a 1-0 advantage.
Then, in the 49th minute, just 3:42 removed from halftime, Alex Decosta sent a right footed pass to Collin Audley, who found the back of the net from 10 yards out to give Denver a 2-0 lead.
Sacramento State cut the deficit in half in the 67th minute, as junior Scott Crandall streaked up the far sideline with the ball before sending a cross to the post that was headed in by fellow junior Zach Tuss for his second goal of the year, making the score 2-1.
The Hornets appeared to tie it in the 77th minute, as redshirt freshman Chris Bettencourt hit a header that hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced downward, but not over the goal line. Denver goalkeeper Joe Willis quickly booted the ball out of harms way, and the Pioneers held on to the 2-1 conference victory.
For the match, Sacramento State ended up outshooting the Pioneers 16-15, with the Hornets putting seven shots on goal, all in the second half, to Denver's six. Mathot led the way for the Pioneers with three shots, while Willis corralled six saves in goal. For the Hornets, Bettencourt led the offensive charge with four shots, while freshman Bryan Oliver provided four saves in goal.
The Hornets will have a week off before traveling to Colorado on Oct. 31 to take on Air Force, which will be followed by a road rematch at Denver on Nov. 2.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. 
