McSwain and Swander Send DU to 2-1 Win

August 26, 2016

Denver 2-1 SIUE (Swander 17’, Grahl 22’, McSwain 38’) |Photos | Highlights

DENVER – The University of Denver women’s soccer team got first career tallies off the underside of the crossbar from senior defensive midfielder Lilly McSwain (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Leah Swander (Grand Junction, Colo.) to send the Pioneers past SIU-Edwardsville 2-1 on Friday night at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.

“It’s nice to get off the mark tonight,” head coach Jeff Hooker said. “This win tonight I think came from what was our most productive week of training. To see a lot of that stuff we worked on this week out on the field tonight was a pleasure to see, and I’m proud of our performance tonight. Our ball movement was great, we provided some quality crosses and overall we just looked to have better ideas of what we wanted to do in the final third.”

After going scoreless in its first eight matches a year ago, the 2016 Denver (1-2-0) squad got off the mark three weeks earlier this season as Swander got a pass in the middle of the field from freshman outside back Heather Turcios (Azusa, Calif.), and knocked one in off the crossbar from 22 yards out in the 17^th minute to give the Pioneers the early 1-0 lead.

SIUE (1-1-1) didn’t let the Pioneers sit on that lead however as Emily Grahl got a pass from Peyton Roehnelt, and beat freshman Brittany Wilson (Littleton, Colo.) 1v1 from just outside the six to provide the visitors with the equalizer in the 22^nd minute.

A senior captain with redshirt senior Francesca Garzelloni (Parker, Colo.), McSwain gave the Pioneers the advantage before the teams went to the locker room, finishing from the top of the box off the crossbar once again, this time off a pass from freshman Hannah Adler (Oak Park, Calif.).

The Pioneers outshot SIUE 13-6 in the match, including 7-1 in the second half. DU also had a 5-2 edge in corner.

Wilson was called upon to make four saves in her first collegiate win on Friday night.