DENVER - Three goals in the first 10 minutes, including a pair by junior midfielder Zach Bolden (Denver, Colo.), jumpstarted a 6-0 rout by the University of Denver men's soccer team over Houston Baptist on Friday night in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.

"I think it was the start of the game [that was the key],"head coach Bobby Muuss said. "I was extremely excited the way the guys responded from a tough weekend last weekend...When you do that on a Friday night in conference play, and you can get other guys in the game, you can start preparing for Sunday."

Denver (6-3-3, 1-2-1 MPSF) struck early on a goal from Bolden in the second minute, taking a pass from senior defender Blake Shannon (Houston, Texas) on the left side and dribbling into the box before firing a shot just inside the left post from 18 yards out.  Bolden was also DU's lone goal scorer in last week's matchup with Houston Baptist (3-6-1, 1-2-1 MPSF).

Bolden found the net again just five minute later. Freshman midfielder Malcolm Harris(Damascus, Md.) played a pass from the right wing to Bolden at the top of the box. Bolden placed the ball into the bottom right hand corner to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead in the seventh minute.

DU wasted no time extending the advantage to three on a ninth minute goal from Shannon. Senior midfielder Josh Wren (Tulsa, Okla.) whipped a free kick from the right flank into the box where Shannon was waiting on the near post to deflect it past the goalkeeper.

The Pioneers stretched the edge in the 23^rd minute on a short range strike from Wren. Harris dribbled the ball down the right edge of the penalty area before passing it to senior defender Drew Beckie (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) on the right wing. Beckie played a low cross into the box, where Wren tapped it into the net from five years out.

In the 67^th minute, freshman midfielder Logan McHugh (Aberdeen, Md.) scored first career goal, taking the ball down the left side and beating a defender before stopping to fire a strike from 25 yards out into the far corner for the unassisted score.

The Pioneers capped off the scoring in the 87^th minute when junior midfielder Anees Abdulgasem (Denver, Colo.) launched a free kick from 35 yards out on the left side of goal that eluded the keeper and found its way into the net. It was Abdulgasem's first career goal.

Goalkeepers Oliver Brown (Louisville, Ky.) and Nate Esler (St. Charles, Ill.) combined for the shutout, although Denver outshot the Huskies 17-6 and prevented any shots on goal.

The six-goal win was the largest margin of victory for the Pioneers since they defeated Birmingham Southern 7-0 on Sept. 9, 2007, in Muuss' third career game with Denver.

The Pioneers will return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. MT, when they host No. 8 New Mexico at CIBER Field.

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