Soccer falls in Sun Belt opener at Denver

DENVER – Middle Tennessee dug itself a hole early and was unable to mount enough of a scoring punch to comeback, falling in its Sun Belt soccer opener, 4-2, to Denver Friday evening at CIBER Field in Denver.

The Blue Raiders trailed 2-0 to the host Pioneers before netting their first goal at 20:44 when sophomore Jessika Oseguera blasted home a shot from 25 yards away into the upper right corner after receiving a pass from senior Luisa Moscoso.

Denver (7-2, 1-0 SBC) had struck first, at 4:42, when Kari Storslett dribbled her way through the MT defense to the end line before turning and locating Nicholette DiGiacomo, who then placed her shot, the game’s first, into the lower left corner for a 1-0 lead.

The Pioneers then tacked on another tally when Bria Beardsley sent a corner kick into the box, where Kristen Hamilton won the ball and then sent it past Middle Tennessee (3-6, 0-1 SBC) goalkeeper Rebecca Cushing at 17:39.

The Blue Raider defense held firm for the next 15 minutes before Denver broke through one more time before the half ended. Cushing came off her line to challenge a play by Jessy Battelli, but the Pioneer fed her teammate, Sam Harder, who then sent her attempt just over the MT goalie’s head to increase the Denver edge to 3-1 entering the intermission.

Neither team was able to crack the scoring column for the opening 30 minutes of the second half, but the Pioneers added their fourth goal at 77:49 when Beardsley and Kalie Vaughn paired up for a chance in the box before Beardsley redirected the shot into the back of the net.

Shortly after Denver increased its margin to three goals, senior Shan Jones countered by taking the next kickoff and racing down the middle of the field before recording the second Middle Tennessee goal just 12 seconds later, at 78:01.

The Blue Raiders will return to action when they continue their road swing in Denton, Texas, for a 1 p.m. Sunday match against North Texas.

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