IPFW 0-1 Denver (Carsonie 69’)

DENVER – Freshman midfielder Frank Carsonie (Hilliard, Ohio) netted his second goal of the season and redshirt-senior goalkeeper Dan Jackson (Chapel Hill, N.C.) nailed down his 10th shutout of the campaign to send the [7/7] University of Denver men’s soccer team past IPFW 1-0 in the Summit League’s regular season finale on Saturday night at Hefner Soccer Complex.

“I think tonight was another one of those games that we were unfortunate not to score more goals and put the game away,” head coach Jamie Franks said. “Our attacking guys are playing well, creating a lot of chances and getting some good looks. Credit their keeper for making some great saves, but for us, we just have to keep attacking like we have been, and our luck will turn. At the end of the day, we’re very pleased with the result, and now we have to get back to work and prepare for Western Illinois on Thursday.”

With the victory, Denver (13-0-3, 5-0-1 Summit) finished the regular season unbeaten for the first time in the program’s Division I history, and is the only program in Division I this year with an unbeaten record.

Denver will host the 2015 Summit League Men’s Soccer Championship beginning Thursday night at CIBER Field. No. 2 seed Oral Roberts will take on No. 3 Omaha in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. MT. Top-seeded Denver will take on No. 4 Western Illinois in the 7 p.m. match. All three matches in the 2015 Summit League Championship will air live on Altitude 2.

The two teams went into the locker room scoreless at the intermission, but Denver controlled the majority of the possession and the chances in the opening 45 minutes, outshooting IPFW 8-2. Denver took the only three corners of the first stanza.

The Crimson and Gold continued to control proceedings in the second half before getting the breakthrough from Carsonie in the 69th minute. Junior right back Reagan Dunk (Dallas, Texas) started the scoring play, rattling the post with his first shot of the evening. Freshman Andre Shinyashiki (Sao Paulo, Brazil) picked up the rebound and got taken down in the area, but got the ball to junior midfielder Karsten Hanlin (Centennial, Colo.), who slid a pass across to Carsonie for the tap-in, his second goal of the campaign. Hanlin picked up his third assist and Shinyashiki tallied his first career helper on the Denver opener.

Saturday night's fifth-straight shutout extended Denver's current streak to 522:18, marking the longest run since Denver kept five-straight clean sheets from Oct. 12 - Nov. 2 in the 2013 season. DU's longest match stretch without allowing a goal is eight, in the 1988 campaign. 

“Our defending starts with our entire team,” Franks said. “It’s cliché, but it’s a team effort. When you take a look at our back seven, [Jordan] Schweitzer, [Sam] Hamilton, our back four and [Dan] Jackson are very tough to break down and take pride in blocking shots.”

The Pioneers have earned 20 points out of a possible 24 on the road this season (ties to UC Santa Barbara and Portland), after earning just one out of 24 last season.

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