4 Things to Know as DU Men’s Soccer Returns to the College Cup

Playing in the College Cup is exactly where University of Denver men’s soccer head coach Jamie Franks thought the team would be at this point in the postseason.

“For our guys, this is where they want to be. This is pressure that’s earned, and we’re just grateful to be a part of it,” Franks says. “Ultimately, the biggest difference is we’re going there to win the trophy, and we really believe that; we really believe that we’re the best team in the country.” 

The semifinal match against Vermont on Friday afternoon will mark the second time DU has appeared in the College Cup—and the first time the team has traveled for a game in the postseason this season.

The last time DU appeared in the national semifinals was in 2016 against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons won in extra time and went on to the national championship game.

This year, Denver defeated UMass, Indiana and Gardner-Webb to get to the semifinals. Vermont bested Iona, Hofstra, San Diego and Pittsburgh.

The winner will play the winner of Ohio State-Marshall in the NCAA College Cup Championship at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 16.

Here are 4 things you should know ahead of Friday’s game.

1. The road to this point was never easy

Franks’ philosophy, since his days as a Division I athlete, is simple: You can “beat anybody, in any condition, on any given day.”

“That belief is about finding adversity. It’s about figuring out who you are, and I think for us, we’ll play anybody. We want to try to beat the best and play the best, so we know what we need to work on,” he says.

Using last season’s rating percentage index (RPI), Denver’s regular season schedule included 11 opponents that finished in the top 100, nine in the top 50 and four in the top 20. 

More specifically, eight of DU’s first nine regular season matches were against teams that finished in the top 40 last season.

Even with a challenging schedule, DU climbed to No. 1 in the Top Drawer Soccer Poll on Sept. 16, its second time in program history. The team stayed there for four straight weeks before losing to Pittsburgh and Kansas City. 

Denver also has one of the best players in the country on its roster. 

Senior attacking midfielder Sam Bassett was named the No. 1 player in the country in the Top Drawer Soccer.com midseason Top 100 player rankings. Bassett has eight goals and 13 assists for 29 total points.

2. The bench boss

In his 10th season as head coach, Franks has continued to lead the men’s soccer team to greater heights.

Franks was hired in 2015, then the youngest head coach in Division I soccer. Denver is 124-39-32 since the beginning of the 2015 season.

Under Franks, the team has qualified for the NCAA Tournament nine times and has made it to the second round seven times. Prior to being named head coach, Franks was an assistant on staff.

The program made its first College Cup appearance during Franks’ second season—when he and his staff were named the 2016 National Coaching Staff of the Year.

This year, DU’s No. 3 overall seed was its highest seed in program history.

Franks is also no stranger to pressure, and because of that, he always tries to put himself in his athletes’ shoes. He won the national championship as a player with Wake Forest in 2007, defeating Ohio State 2-1 in the final.

“The biggest lesson that I’m trying to teach them is that this is just another game. It’s a little bit of a higher stage … but they just need to go out there and trust themselves and play their roles,” he says.

3. A chance to be first

Denver has to defeat Vermont before it can make plans for Monday’s championship game, but reality is setting in that this team could be the first in program history to not only get there but win it all.

Bassett says a national title has been the goal since he and his fellow seniors first arrived on campus.

“I’ve been dreaming about it ever since we came here freshman year, ever since we were talking about it as a class,” he says.

For senior defender Jason Belloli, the chance to win the program’s first national championship means leaving a legacy that will live on at the University.

“To get a banner up in the rafters, it’s something we can come back and still have that there, no one can take that away from us—it means everything, and it’s why we play the sport,” Belloli says.

4. Wins on and off the pitch

The team’s success has not been limited to what happens on the field.

Both Ronan Wynne and Bassett earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-America honors this week.

Wynne, who is studying journalism and psychology, was named to the second team, while Bassett, who is studying real estate and construction management, was named to the third team. Bassett and Wynne are the 10th and 11th men’s soccer players to earn Academic All-America honors.

Last season, the program finished fifth in average GPA (3.62) in NCAA Division I men’s soccer for the 2023-24 academic year—just 0.12 behind national leaders UNC Greensboro.

DU has finished in the top five academically in the country in each of the last eight seasons.