Sept. 9, 2001

Box Score

DENVER - The 25th-ranked University of Denver men's soccer team scored three goals in the first half and added another in the second as it won its second consecutive game, defeating Loyola (Ill.), 4-0 in the final game of the John Byrden Classic. With its second consecutive shutout victory, the Pioneers improve to 3-1-0 on the season. Loyola drops to 1-3-0. In the day's first game, Air Force knocked off Xavier (Ohio), 2-0.

Unlike Friday's scoreless first half, the Pioneers got on the scoreboard early in this game as junior Nic Hartman (Littleton, Colo.) took a pass from sophomore Mark Wellen (Littleton, Colo.) that gave Denver a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. Just four minutes later, senior Eric Van Deman (Littleton, Colo.) gave Denver a 2-0 advantage when he scored off a Michael Piserchio (Littleton, Colo.) corner kick. Hartman wrapped up the scoring in the first half with his second tally in the 31st minute that gave Denver a commanding 3-0 lead heading into halftime.

Wellen added his first goal of the season in the 52nd minute to account for the 4-0 final. Junior goalkeeper Parker Jarvis (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) had four saves for Denver in recording his second consecutive shutout.

"We played well today," head coach Chad Ashton said. "We did some things well and never really allowed Loyola to have that many chances to score. It was an all around solid performance by our guys today."

The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 10-2 in four games in earning a 3-1-0 record. Their lone loss was a 1-0 loss to Gonzaga Sept. 3.

The first game of the day saw Air Force move to 4-0-0 with a 2-0 win over Xavier. Marcus Sagastume and Matt Rabe scored for the Falcons, who was 2-0 in the John Byrden Classic along with Denver.

The Pioneers are next in action this Friday, Sept. 14 when they travel to Omaha, Neb., to take on Creighton at 6:30 p.m.