Keegan Kelly nets hat trick for DU Pioneers in Summit League semifinal win over Oral Roberts

A re-focused Keegan Kelly is built for November The University of Denver sophomore forward scored a perfect hat trick right foot left foot header in Sunday s Summit League semifinal against Oral Roberts on the way to a - win for the Pioneers The -year-old who represented New Zealand in last month s FIFA U- World Cup has a knack for showing up when it counts It took games to net his first goal of the season for DU the game-tying goal against St Thomas last Wednesday to clinch a share of the Summit League regular-season title Then came a hat trick four days later Last year he scored in the opening two games but didn t appear on the scoresheet until the final match of the regular season Including that meeting he went on a five-game tear of recording at least one goal contribution in the Summit League championship match against UMKC then in all of the Pioneers NCAA Tournament games except for their Final Four loss to Vermont Kelly s motivation Getting another couple of days with the boys Every championship we win from now on is another three four seven days whatever it is that we can train together and go and compete Kelly stated I m just trying to do what I can to give these seniors the sendoff they deserve by going all the way All the way meaning a second-straight trip to the College Cup where Denver lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion a year ago With Sunday s win an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament is in play despite an overall record of - - A handful of those losses were one-goal defeats against top- opponents Their lone ranked win was against No Georgetown The Pioneers want the Summit League trophy that eluded them during last year s run Belief is a big piece of the puzzle according to DU coach Jamie Franks That much was on display against the Golden Eagles DU was dominant particularly in a first half in which they held of the possession but Oral Roberts scored first against the run of play in the th minute On a rare counterattack Jake Smith took down a Golden Eagles attacker in the box which wasn t called a foul at first but was reversed after a long VAR review DU keeper Isaac Nehme dove the right way but Jeff Mesidor converted from the spot The Pioneers kept pushing and probing at Oral Roberts defense and broke it down on multiple occasions but they couldn t quite put the finishing touches on any moves In the th minute Bryce Willoughby tapped in a goal at the back post on DU s th corner of the encounter With extra coverage on Grant Lund who scored on a corner against ORU last weekend Willoughby was unmarked on the goal Just seconds later the Kelly show began To take the lead Jake Smith pinged a perfect ball to Kelly streaking toward the top of the box who headed it home He broke away for his right-footed finish in the th minute then stalling with the ball in the corner turned opportunistically into his left-footed goal in the th minute Franks revealed it helped to see Kelly play in a different system with New Zealand to pick out flaws and opportunities that could be applied to his role with DU The biggest takeaway for an eager forward discipline I think he s narrowed his focus He s trying to make every play and sometimes when you re trying to make every play it pulls you out of position because you re so committed to the first run Franks disclosed He s been understanding that his first movement is really setting up a second movement Everything for him is reliably about his work ethic it s about his grit it s about his intensity We just felt like in current times really the past three four weeks since he s been back from the World Cup he s just been putting himself in really good spots So nobody is shocked to see him total three nowadays That s been a theme as of late for the Pioneers who are getting hot at the right time They re - - in their last four games and have only conceded twice Though the first half of Sunday s semi was a grind four goals in the final minutes provided a great swing of momentum Related Articles Renck DU to West Coast Conference is ideal fit represents huge win for Pioneers University of Denver moving to West Coast Conference in Led by goalkeeper Isaac Nehme DU Pioneers men s soccer has lofty goals for Most of of all they look like they re having fun During warm-ups while the Golden Eagles took their shooting and one-touch passing seriously the Pioneers were cackling during keep-away games and chanting every time a shot was blocked in a defensive drill Each Kelly tally was met with equal elation Fun entertaining soccer is part of the package for a organization that s going places The Pioneers will play the winner of UMKC and Delaware on Saturday at p m at DU Soccer Stadium for the Summit League title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament We don t really care who we play it s a final Kelly explained The Roos of UMKC beat DU in the same match last year We don t play in championships we win them So don t care if it s KC or Delaware we re gonna win We just know that they have to come here and play us for minutes Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams