The Buffaloes (2-0-0) handed the Northern Colorado Bears (0-2-0) a 3-0 loss on Sunday afternoon at Prentup Field in Boulder to claim the cup. The win at home came after CU shredded Colorado College 5-0 at the University of Denver’s CIBER Field on Friday.

In the other Colorado Cup match Sunday at Prentup, DU (2-0-0) overcame a spirited Colorado College (0-2-0) side 2-1. Colorado and DU finished with two wins, but CU scored more goals (8 to 4) over the weekend to break the tie.

CU head coach Bill Hempen was an instrumental part in starting the tournament. He feels the Colorado Cup did its job in encouraging youth players around the state to aspire to play college ball.

“I’m so happy. It’s been a dream of mine. I couldn’t do it without the coaches of the other teams,” he said. “It couldn’t have been any better. And obviously with us winning, I’m pretty darn happy.”

Colorado opened the game showing its quick players up top. Hayley Hughes created a great scoring opportunity with her speed, breaking away from the UNC defense just 15 minutes into the first half. She was robbed by Northern Colorado keeper Kirstin Salminen, but it was hard to miss her blazing down the sidelines. Hempen acknowledged her ability to accelerate will serve the team well as it moves into a new Pac-12 Conference.

“Everybody’s got a ‘Hayley’ in the Pac-12. Probably three or four of them, if not more. Having her a part of this is going to help that transition,” Hempen said.

After a hard shot from Erin Bricker in the final four minutes of the half, UNC’s defense failed to clear the ball and instead left Clare Madden able to play an open pass to senior Kate Russell for a CU goal. This was Russell’s first goal of the season after leading the Buffs in points — three goals and five assists — in 2010.

The Buffs found the back of the net again early in the second half. Caroline Danneberg passed to Anne Stuller who drove hard to the net, forcing Salminen out of her box. Rather than taking the shot, Stuller played a selfless ball to a wide open Hughes who scored for the second time this weekend. Hughes two goals during the Colorado Cup made her just one shy of her total goals scored during the entire 2010 season (three goals last year tied her as CU’s leading scorer).

CU freshman Darcy Jerman also scored her second goal of the season, after Shaye Marshall froze the Bears defense with her fast feet. The extra time gave her a chance to serve the ball to Jerman who put the game away 3-0.

DU Battles: In the day’s first contest, the Pioneers weathered the early storm from the Tigers and opened the scoring in the 25th minute, as Kristen Hamilton assisted on the Pioneers’ opening goal.

“I’m just going out there and trying to find ways to keep helping my team win,” Hamilton said of her two goals and two assists this weekend.

Hamilton won a tackle and got the ball behind the Tigers defense, putting junior Kalie Vaughn in a position to beat her mark and drive the ball past CC keeper Hannah Berglund.

Denver would find the back of the net a second time in the first half, this time off of a quickly taken free kick. Freshman defender Sam Harder got onto the ball after the referee’s whistle and played the ball a few yards down the field to the attacking Hamilton. The sophomore forward sent a cross into the box for a Stephanie Woo volley and goal.

CC finally got on the board in the 52nd minute.  Freshman midfielder Kaeli Vandersluis served the corner in the six yard box, and found the head of sophomore defender Katie Uyenishi to pull the Tigers within one. That was a close as it would get.

For DU, Maria Khan finished with seven saves, coming off a nine save performance against UNC on Friday.

Coming Up: Colorado next hosts Wyoming at Prentup Field on Aug. 28. DU will host Nebraska at CIBER Field on Thursday. Colorado College travels to Utah State for a Friday match. UNC goes on the road, too, to face Jacksonville on Friday.

Tickets for nine Denver Men’s Soccer games and nine Denver Women’s Soccer games went on sale on Friday.

By purchasing season tickets, fans will enjoy the same centerfield seat, including a comfortable seatback for all 18 games at CIBER Field at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium.

DU’s women open the season on Aug. 19 by hosting the inaugural Colorado Cup, when the Pioneers will take on Northern Colorado, immediately following a matchup between Colorado and Colorado College. Denver also will host Nebraska (Aug. 25), Cal State Bakersfield (Sept. 16), Auburn (Sept. 18), Middle Tennessee (Sept. 23), Western Kentucky (Sept. 25), South Alabama (Oct. 7), Troy (Oct. 9) and Arkansas State (Oct. 20).

The Pioneer men kick off the season on Aug. 27 against perennial NCAA powerhouse Creighton. The Bluejays hired legendary head coach Elmar Bolowich, who led North Carolina for 22 years, including the 2001 NCAA champions and College Cup appearances in each of the last three years.

The men’s team also will welcome Davidson (Sept. 4), Buffalo (Sept. 16), College of Charleston (Sept. 18), Air Force (Oct. 1), New Mexico (Oct. 7), UNLV (Oct. 9), Cal State Bakersfield (Oct. 28) and Seattle (Oct. 30).

Season tickets are available here or by calling/e-mailing Season Ticket and Premium Seating Manager Eric Vasquez at 303.871.7460.

The Pioneers will face three 2010 NCAA Tournament teams, including Auburn and Middle Tennessee at home, as well as hosting Nebraska in its first year in the Big 10.

“We’re very excited with the 2011 schedule, starting with the first round of the inaugural Colorado Cup against Northern Colorado on Aug. 19, following a game between Colorado and Colorado College,” Hooker said. “This is one of the strongest schedules we have ever had, including a great slate of home games and road games against Cal and Colorado. We feel that the nonconference schedule will prepare us well for our last go around in the Sun Belt Conference.”

Colorado, Colorado College and Northern Colorado join Denver in the Colorado Cup, which will feature DU/UNC and CU/ CC on Aug. 19 at CIBER Field, followed by matchups between DU/CC and CU/UNC in Boulder on Aug. 21.

The Cornhuskers, who finished out their final season in the Big 12 with a 13-7-1 mark last year, will travel to CIBER Field on Aug. 25.

Following a trip to Berkeley, Calif., for the California Invitational against San Francisco (Sept. 2) and 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Cal (Sept. 4), DU will return to Boulder for a meeting with in-state rival Colorado (Sept. 11).

The Pioneers again will host the Denver Invitational to close out the nonconference schedule. On Sept. 16, CU/Auburn will precede an evening meeting between DU and Cal State Bakersfield. The Pioneers will take on Auburn, who received an at-large bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, and CU will meet CSUB on Sept. 18.

The Sun Belt Conference portion of the schedule opens on Sept. 23, when the Pioneers will battle Middle Tennessee, which edged DU in a shootout following a scoreless regulation and two overtimes in the 2010 SBC Tournament championship game.

Western Kentucky travels to CIBER Field on Sept. 25. South Alabama (Oct. 7), Troy (Oct. 9) and Arkansas State (Oct. 20) all travel to Denver, while DU will visit Louisiana-Lafayette (Sept. 30), Louisiana-Monroe (Oct. 2), Florida Atlantic (Oct. 14), Florida International (Oct. 16), Arkansas-Little Rock (Oct. 23) and North Texas (Oct. 28).

The Sun Belt Conference Tournament will be held at Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Nov. 2-5. The Pioneers finished 2010 at 19-2-1, the best record in team history, and swept the SBC regular season for the third time in team history. However, Middle Tennessee beat DU in a shootout in the SBC Tournament championship game, snapping Denver’s league record streak of fourth-consecutive SBC Tournament titles and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Here are some of the scenes from the outing at DU’s CIBER Field:

University of Denver's Zach Bolden and University of Tulsa's Sidney Stewart battle it out during the game at Ciber Field on April 9. (Photograph by Jessica Taves/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

University of New Mexico's forward Devon Sandoval quickly avoids a collision with Creighton University's goal keeper Brian Holt during the game at University of Denver's Ciber Field on April 9, 2011. (Photograph by Jessica Taves/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

Creighton University's Ethan Finlay (center) is surrounded by University of New Mexico's Travis Campbell (left), and Michael Kafari during the game at University of Denver's CIBER Field on April 9. New Mexico took the game 1-0. (Photograph by Jessica Taves/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

Goal! And the Pioneers put one past the Golden Hurricane in night action. (Photograph by Joel Baud/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

The Grizzlies will face Mesa State College’s Club Team at 2 p.m. Sunday at Murphy Field and will then be part of grand opening ceremonies for the FIFA 2 Star Field certified pitch on the following weekend.  The Grizzlies also have a home scrimmage tentatively set against Metro State’s Club Team on Saturday, April 23, but the status and exact time of that event is pending.

The Taos Eco Park has been awarded a FIFA 2 Star Field Certification by the Federation Internationale de Football Association.  A FIFA 2 Star Field Certification guarantees that a synthetic field’s quality, consistency of play and safety standards will mirror natural grass.

The field is one of just four such synthetic fields to receive such certification in the entire country and at 7,000 feet above sea level, is the highest in the world.

A total of nine soccer games, including the Grizzlies’ 10 a.m. clash on Sunday, April 17, against the Rio Vista Nike Premier 94B/U-17 squad, will be played on the field during the weekend-long festival.

“It’s an honor to be part of the grand opening and to be one of the highlighted colleges playing that weekend,” Grizzly coach Tim Busen said.

The Grand Opening festivities will also include an autograph signing session from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, April16, by Grizzly players and players from the University of New Mexico Lobos, the University of Denver Pioneers, squads who play each at 4 p.m. that day.  Parking and admission to the festival, including the activities is free.

Beckie was called in for the training camp in Los Angeles and Oxnard, Calif., which runs from Feb. 23 through Friday.

“We are thrilled that Drew has been given this opportunity,” DU head coach Bobby Muuss said. “He is a very good player that has worked extremely hard to reach this point. Drew has grown so much since arriving here two years ago, and we know he will represent both Canada and the University of Denver at the very highest level. We wish him the best of luck and are excited to follow his progress.”

Beckie, who was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, helped lead the Pioneers to the 2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular season championship and an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“It is a great honor that Canada would invite me to this training camp,” Beckie said. “It has always been a goal of mine to be back with the national team and I am excited for the opportunity. I’d like to thank Canada for bringing me back, and I look forward to competing with and helping the best players in the country.”

Beckie previously spent time on the Canadian U-17 National Team, was a Canadian U-20 National Team pool member and attended the Canadian U-20 camp in January 2009.

Team Canada’s training camp featured games against Chivas USA on Tuesday and the LA Galaxy on Friday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Beckie is expected to return to the Pioneers and the Real Colorado Foxes  following the training camp.

DU will take on Tulsa under the lights at 7 p.m. The Pioneers won the 2010 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they were edged 1-0 by UC Santa Barbara in double overtime during the first round. Tulsa beat Bradley in the NCAA Tournament First Round before falling to Indiana in the Second Round.

The Lobos and Blue Jays will meet at 4:30 p.m. in a rematch from the 2010 NCAA Tournament First Round, when Creighton advanced with a 4-1 victory before falling to SMU in the Second Round.

Additionally, the weekend also will feature a Spring College ID Camp and Coaches Symposium.

The Spring College ID Camp will be held Fri., April 8 from 5-8 p.m., and will feature college coaches training youth players. The camp is open to boys ages 12-18 and costs $50 per player. All participants will receive one ticket to the College Soccer Saturday matches on April 9. To register, fill out the attached form and mail it to DU Men’s Soccer. For more information, call the DU Men’s Soccer office at 303-871-3923 or e-mail denversoccercamp@yahoo.com.

The Coaching Symposium is open to coaches looking to gain insight from four NCAA Division I head coaches and their staffs: two-time MPSF Coach of the Year Bobby Muuss (Denver), two-time Conference USA Coach of the Year Tom McIntosh (Tulsa), 2005 National Coach of the Year Jeremy Fishbein (New Mexico) and newly hired Creighton coach Elmar Bolovich, the former head coach of North Carolina, who won 2010 ACC Coach of the Year and lead the Tar Heels to the 2001 NCAA championship, College Cup appearances in each of the past three seasons and 15 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1989. The cost is $35 per coach and includes a seat back ticket to both games.

Seat back tickets for the games are $10 and general admission tickets are $8 prior to April 9. Prices increase to $12 and $10, respectively, at the gate. Children 3 and younger are free, and groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $6.

Creighton held a two-goal lead with 5:30 left in the game, when freshman defender Theodor Remman scored to cut the lead. After a Bluejays foul, junior midfielder Alex DeCosta fired a pass inside the box, and Remman headed the ball past the Creighton keeper.

The Pioneers had chances, putting 8-of-13 shots on goal, while the Bluejays had 3-of-10 shots on goal.

During a scramble in the box in the 38th minute, Creighton’s Liam Kelly flicked a header to Andrew Duran, who fired a goal into the left side from seven yards out.

Creighton scored again in the 72nd minute on a set play, when Jose Gomez served a pass to the left side and Greg Jordan one-timed a shot past DU freshman goalkeeper Mate Aguirre.

Senior Teale Stone started in goal and played the first 31:35 without facing a shot before freshman Dylan Shomaker entered the game. Shomaker played just over 30 minutes, making a save and allowing one goal. Aguirre played the final 26 minutes for the Pioneers and allowed one goal.

Creighton goalkeepers Brian Holt and Bryan Hoie combined for seven saves.

The Pioneers conclude their exhibition schedule in Fort Wayne, Ind., against Indiana on Aug. 29 at 10 a.m. MT.

The Pioneers, who will be bidding for their eighth overall soccer title and fifth consecutive tournament title, earned nine of the 12 possible coaches’ votes for a total of 140 points. FIU, which won the 2009 regular season title, earned three votes and picked to finish second in 2010 with 127 points.

WKU, which tied Denver for second in the conference in 2009, was picked to finish third with 118 points followed by North Texas in fourth with 110 points.

Denver, which compiled a 17-6-1 overall record last year, returns seven starters from its tournament team in 2009. The Pioneers will seek its fifth consecutive SBC tournament title having won the title in each of the past four years. DU has won seven SBC tournament titles since the league started sponsoring women’s soccer in 2000.

In addition to the preseason poll, the SBC also released its All-SBC Preseason Soccer team on Thursday.

Nine student-athletes that earned first- or second-team All-SBC honors in 2009 are set to return this season, including reigning SBC Freshman of the Year Kaitlyn Savage of FIU, and the 2010 SBC Preseason Player of the Year Christina Veasley of UALR.

Denver and Middle Tennessee each placed three student-athletes on the list followed by WKU with two.

Fran Howells, Shan Jones, Mallory Outerbridge, Jessie Rogers and Libby Stout have made the All-SBC preseason team each of the past two seasons.

2010 Preseason SBC Poll
1. Denver – 140 pts (9)
2. FIU – 127 pts (3)
3. WKU – 118 pts
4. North Texas – 110
5. Middle Tennessee – 101 pts
6. UALR – 75 pts
7. Arkansas State – 54 pts
9. Florida Atlantic – 53 pts
9. Troy – 53 pts
10. Louisiana-Lafayette – 47 pts
11. South Alabama – 30 pts
12. Louisiana-Monroe – 28 pts

2010 Preseason All-SBC Conference Team
F – Kaitlin Bast (Denver, Sophomore)
F – Shan Jones (Middle Tennessee, Junior)
F – Mallory Outerbridge (WKU, Junior)
F – Christina Veasley (UALR, Junior)
D – Janelle Blake (Florida Atlantic, Senior)
D – Fran Howells (Middle Tennessee, Senior)
D – Jessie Rogers (Denver, Senior)
MF – Bria Beardsley (Denver, Junior)
MF – Vanessa Mueggler (Middle Tennessee, Senior)
MF – April Perry (FIU, Junior)
GK – Libby Stout (WKU, Junior)

2010 Preseason SBC Soccer Player of the Year
Christina Veasley (UALR, Junior, Forward)

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
 
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. 
 
“The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award is a great honor because it represents the student-athlete as the overall person from the soccer field to the classroom to the community at large,” Denver head coach Bobby Muuss said. “Being among this elite group of student-athletes is certainly an honor for Michael and Denver soccer.”

Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winners during the 2010 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cup championships in early December.
 
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot.
 
Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
 
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.