# 2016 Denver Pioneers men's soccer team

The 2016 Denver Pioneers men's soccer team represented the University of Denver during the 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Pioneers played in Summit League where they won the regular season and conference tournament titles. They finished the regular season as one of only two unbeaten teams, the other being top-ranked Maryland.
The Pioneers qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season and their seventh overall time. The Pioneers earned a Second Round-bye and were seeded sixth in the tournament. In the second round, they played the UNLV Rebels where they won 3–0, marking their first NCAA Tournament win since 1970. They then defeated Washington 2–1 at home and third-seeded Clemson 1–0 on the road to advance to the school's first-ever College Cup.

## Roster

As of 19 November 2016
| Squad No. | Name | Year | Hometown | Previous School | Previous Club |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 00 | James Bannon-Schneebeck | RS Junior | Albuquerque, NM | Albuquerque | Rio '95 |
| 0 | Nick Gardner | RS Sophomore | Marvin, NC | Charlotte Latin | Charlotte Soccer Academy |
| 30 | Will Palmquist | FR | Denver, CO | Denver East | Colorado Rush |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Tobi Jnohope | Freshman | Auburn, WA | Jefferson (WA) | Seattle Sounders FC Academy |
| 3 | Shae Smalley | Sophomore | Columbus, OH | Olentangy Orange | Columbus Crew Academy |
| 4 | Reagan Dunk | RS Senior | Dallas, TX | Lake Highlands | Solar Chelsea |
| 5 | Scott DeVoss | RS Sophomore | Centennial, CO | Arapahoe | Real Colorado Foxes |
| 16 | Tosh Samkange | Sophomore | Sammamish, WA | Eastlake (WA) | Seattle Sounders FC Academy |
| 19 | A. J. Fuller | Junior | Littleton, CO | Heritage (CO) | Colorado Rush |
| 21 | Kortne Ford | Junior | Greeley, CO | Greeley Central | Colorado Rapids Academy |
| 25 | Dylan Keeney | Freshman | Littleton, CO | Heritage (CO) | Real Colorado Academy |
| 27 | Dan Mooney | RS Freshman | Indianapolis, IN | Cathedral (IN) | Indiana Fire Academy |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 8 | Sam Hamilton | Senior | Evergreen, CO | Evergreen (CO) | Colorado Rush |
| 12 | Graham Smith | Junior | Highlands Ranch, CO | Oregon State | Oregon State Beavers |
| 13 | Nick Marcin | Freshman | Austin, TX | Westlake (TX) | Lonestar SC |
| 14 | Ryan Barlow | RS Freshman | Coppell, TX | Coppell | FC Dallas Academy |
| 15 | Jared Cochran | RS Junior | Evergreen, CO | Evergreen (CO) | Colorado Rush |
| 17 | Karsten Hanlin | RS SR | Centennial, Colo. | (Cherry Creek High School) | Colorado Rapids Academy |
| 18 | Kyle Morlack | RS JR | Goodyear, Ariz. | (Millennium High School) | SC Del Sol Armstrong |
| 20 | Chandler Crosswait | RS SR | Bedford, Texas | (L.D. Bell High School) | Solar Chelsea |
| 22 | Blake Moncur | FR | Fort Collins, Colo. | (Fort Collins High School) | Colorado Rapids Academy |
| 23 | Alex Underwood | JR | Winnetka, Ill. | (New Trier High School) | Chicago Fire Academy |
| 26 | Kenny Akamatsu | Sophomore | Niigata, Japan | (Nittan Daigaka Buzan) | Mitsubishi Yowa Soccer Club |
| Forwards |||||||
| 6 | Blake Elder | RS Junior | Fort Worth, TX | U.S. Air Force Academy | Air Force Falcons |
| 9 | Andre Shinyashiki | Sophomore | São Paulo, BRA | Montverde Academy | Pequeninos do Jockey |
| 11 | Eric Kronenberg | RS Junior | Boulder, CO | Fairview High School (CO) | Colorado Rapids Academy |
| 33 | Ryan Schaefer | RS Freshman | Burien, WA | Kennedy Catholic | Seattle Sounders Academy |

## Schedule

| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibitions ||||||
| 08/20/16* 3:00 p.m. | No. 20 | at Air Force | T 0–0 | | Cadet Soccer Stadium Colorado Springs, CO |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 08/26/16* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | No. 20 | at Monmouth | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 0–0–1 | Hesse Field (1,513) West Long Branch, NJ |
| 08/28/16* 10:00 a.m., BTN | No. 20 | at No. 25 Rutgers | W 1–0 | 1–0–1 | Yurcak Field (325) Piscataway, NJ |
| 09/02/16* 2:00 p.m., BTN | No. 13 | at Northwestern | W 2–1 | 2–0–1 | Martin Stadium (504) Evanston, IL |
| 09/04/16* 6:00 p.m. | No. 13 | at UIC | W 2–1 | 3–0–1 | Flames Field (333) Chicago, IL |
| 09/09/16* 7:00 p.m., Altitude | No. 11 | UC Riverside | W 4–1 | 4–0–1 | CIBER Field (912) Denver, CO |
| 09/09/16* 7:00 p.m., Altitude | No. 11 | Bryant | W 2–0 | 5–0–1 | CIBER Field (489) Denver, CO |
| 09/15/16* 7:00 p.m. | No. 8 | Saint Louis | W 2–0 | 6–0–1 | CIBER Field (576) Denver, CO |
| 09/17/16* 7:00 p.m. | No. 8 | North Florida | W 1–0 | 7–0–1 | CIBER Field (607) Denver, CO |
| 09/21/16* 6:00 p.m. | No. 8 | at No. 12 Creighton | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 7–0–2 | Morrison Stadium (2,048) Omaha, NE |
| 09/24/16 7:00 p.m., Altitude | No. 8 | Fort Wayne | W 4–3 | 8–0–2 (1–0) | CIBER Field (685) Denver, CO |
| 10/01/16 11:00 a.m. | No. 8 | at Eastern Illinois | W 1–0 | 9–0–2 (2–0) | West Practice Fields (80) Charleston, IL |
| 10/07/16 5:00 p.m. | No. 7 | at IUPUI | W 1–0 | 10–0–2 (3–0) | Carroll Stadium (80) Indianapolis, IN |
| 10/10/16 5:00 p.m. | No. 7 | at No. 9 Butler | W 1–0 | 11–0–2 | Butler Bowl (804) Indianapolis, IN |
| 10/15/16 7:00 p.m. | No. 5 | Western Illinois | W 2–0 | 12–0–2 (4–0) | CIBER Field (667) Denver, CO |
| 10/19/16* 7:00 p.m., Altitude | No. 5 | No. 22 New Mexico I-25 Derby | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 13–0–2 | CIBER Field (576) Denver, CO |
| 10/22/16 7:00 p.m., Altitude 2 | No. 5 | Oral Roberts | W 2–0 | 14–0–2 (5–0) | CIBER Field (645) Denver, CO |
| 10/29/16 7:00 p.m. | No. 4 | at Omaha | T 0–0 $^{2OT}$ | 14–0–3 (5–0–1) | Caniglia Field (1,025) Omaha, NE |
| 11/03/16* 7:00 p.m. | No. 6 | No. 24 Portland | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 15–0–3 | CIBER Field (885) Denver, CO |
| The Summit Tournament ||||||
| 11/10/16 4:00 p.m., Altitude 2 | No. 4 (2) | No. (3) Eastern Illinois Semifinals | W 1–0 | 16–0–3 | CIBER Field (201) Denver, CO |
| 11/12/16 1:00 p.m. | No. 4 (2) | No. (1) Omaha Championship | W 2–1 | 17–0–3 | CIBER Field (683) Denver, CO |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 11/20/16* 5:00 p.m. | No. 4 (6) | UNLV Second Round | W 3–0 | 18–0–3 | CIBER Field (1,070) Denver, CO |
| 11/27/16* 5:00 p.m. | No. 4 (6) | No. 14 (11) Washington Sweet 16 | W 2–1 | 19–0–3 | CIBER Field (1,640) Denver, CO |
| 12/02/16* 5:00 p.m. | No. 4 (6) | at No. 3 (3) Clemson Quarterfinals | W 1–0 | 20–0–3 | Riggs Field (4,101) Clemson, SC |
| 12/09/16* 6:00 p.m. | No. 4 (6) | vs. No. 2 (2) Wake Forest College Cup – Semifinals | L 1–2 $^{2OT}$ | 20–1–3 | BBVA Compass Stadium (6,056) Houston, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Final |
| NSCAA | 20 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 |