Men's Soccer earns 0-0 tie with No. 10-ranked Denver

St. Paul, Minn. - Tucker Mann collected 12 saves in goal and host Tommie Men's Soccer went toe-to-toe all 90 minutes with Summit League power and No. 10-ranked Denver in Saturday's 0-0 tie at South Field.

Denver (7-2-3 overall, 2-0-1 Summit) built a 12-3 edge in shots on goal and a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks but was unable to finish and record a go-ahead goal.

The Pioneers hit one post with a shot midway through the second half, and were denied by several deflections and saves by Mann.

The Tommies (2-7-2, 1-0-1) remained unbeaten in the conference and continued their solid play over the last four outings. Coach Jon Lowery's team is 1-1-2 in its last four games with two shutouts.

St. Thomas didn't have a lot of scoring chances, but it did throw a scare at Denver late in the game with a couple of deep pushes.

Denver was coming off a 1-0 road victory four days earlier at No. 21-ranked Virginia. The Pioneers' experience and speed was on display, but the Tommies kept their poise and focus and didn't panic.

Quoting Coach Jon Lowery:

"We controlled what we could control. I think we really set a tone on something as simple as winning a lot of 50-50 balls. We made the hustle plays, and those got us into the game. Once we got into the game, we found a way to hang around. I thought some individuals really stepped up, and I thought collectively we were really good today. We were really, really good against a really good team.

"I think you'll see Denver play deep into the (NCAA) tournament this year, as displayed with their recent results like beating Virginia, they have a veteran, quality group. It's funny as proud as I am of our group today, we were taking notes a little on Denver, what are they doing to us, what do they look like, how do they operate.

"Look, it was a zero-zero tie, we're not going to get too high or too low about it. It was a good barometer for how hard the guys will fight for us, how much progress they have made trusting our plan and executing it, and really just believing in something that's very hard, they're starting to believe Today was a great day.

"Tucker (Mann)'s arrival into this season was interrupted with a preseason injury, and he had some results that interrupted his confidence, but we haven't seen the best Tucker, he'll be the first to tell you that. We have been working with him a ton. He was extra video this week, extra training this week, and I think we got him comfortable, I could see it in his eyes (Friday). I had a one-on-one with him, and when I walked away from that I thought 'Wow this kid is really going to be good (Saturday).' He deserves this. He works his tail off, and he showed us what we have known, but we needed a performance like that.

"We have to be mature with how we process this result. In my mind, that was one point in the Summit League race. We'll take the point, and it puts us at four (points) in the conference standings, and now we get ready for the next game."

Did You Know?

Last season Denver scored a 3-1 home win over the Purple in the first meeting in the series.

After allowing 23 goals in the first seven games in a 1-6 start, the Toms have just allowed four in the last four contests, including three vs. Gonzaga.

Mann's 12 saves were the most in regulation time by a Tommie goalie in the D-I era. Mann had 14 saves in 2021 in an a two-overtime tie vs. Western Michigan, nine of those in regulation time.

Up Next

The Toms play next Saturday Oct. 15 at Omaha.

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Team Stats

Charlie Holton

Connor Gist

Carver Tierney

Players Mentioned

Tucker Mann