DENVER – Maybe it wasn't beautiful.
 
At least not until the ball went into the net.
 
Jaime Gutierrez (Aurora, Colo./Aurora West College Prep Academy) scored his second goal of the game, on a nifty back-heel tap-in just 1:52 into overtime, to give MSU Denver a 2-1 victory Sunday over Colorado State University-Pueblo, thrilling fans at the Regency Athletic Complex.
 
On the winning play, Yannick Schad (Munich, Germany/Theodolinden-Gymnasium) played a free kick into the box from left to right as Gutierrez and teammates made their way from outside the right post to the left side.
 
"You try to put it in a really good spot, make a mess of it sometimes, and you try to get on the (good) end of the mess," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Jeremy Tittle said. "That's the way it worked out today."
 
The defender marking Gutierrez leapt for a header that bounced off bodies. Suddenly the ball landed behind Gutierrez, who had found himself with his back to the net at the left post.
 
Gutierrez calmly tapped it in with his right heel.
 
"A bit of a lucky goal, but I'm just happy I got it," Gutierrez said. "The cross from Yannick was a great ball, and it bounced between me and the other defender. I had a little bit of fortune that it stayed in front of me, and it was my first instinct to back-heel it."
 
The free-kick try from Schad was basically only a couple feet away from the corner. So, essentially taking a corner kick, Schad played the ball relatively low into the box.
 
"Sometimes you have a feeling right away when you hit the ball pretty well," he said. "It went into a perfect spot. And he had a great finish."
 
It was the third goal of the weekend for Gutierrez, and the fourth of the season. Gutierrez also had two assists Friday as part of a nine-point weekend, is the team leader with 12 points and four assists, and shares the team lead in goals with Jacob Coking (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton).
 
"Jaime is a very good striker," Roadrunners midfielder Gianni Steijlen (Eindhoven, The Netherlands/Summa College) said. "The first goal he scored was a beauty, and the goals he scored were very important. I like that Jaime works hard and is always in the right space. If he scores, it's good for us."
 
Gutierrez had given the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead with a header in the 37^th minute, taking a fantastic setup from Coking and heading it past the goalkeeper.
 
"Jacob was on the left and he cut back, so I had to hesitate to make sure I was on side," Gutierrez said. "When I saw he was going to play it, I made my run and the defenders didn't track me very well. So I was one-on-one with the keeper for an open header."
 
CSU-Pueblo (5-6-1 overall, 2-5-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) tied the game on a penalty kick by Santiago Tinta in the 64^th minute.
 
Then the ThunderWolves nearly won it as regulation expired, with a free kick to the box that was headed on goal by Tanner Pile. MSU Denver goalkeeper James Tanner (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens) batted the head-high shot away as time expired.
 
But the Roadrunners ended it quickly once extra time began.
 
A third straight victory puts MSU Denver (6-6 overall) solidly in fifth place in the RMAC at 5-3. With 15 points, the Roadrunners are just two points behind third-place Regis (5-1-2) and one point behind fourth-place Westminster (5-2-1).
 
"We're super excited," Schad said. "It's so big that we have three wins in a row, and we want to keep going."