GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After a back-and-forth battle, the Metropolitan State University of Denver men's soccer team (3-5-0, 2-2-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) dropped a tough road contest to No. 17 Colorado Mesa (5-0-2, 3-0-1 RMAC) on Sunday afternoon, 1-0. The sides were evenly matched for most of the game, but Colorado Mesa's Kevin Del Mazo found the net in the 70^th minute, scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal.

"We controlled the match early on, finding a good rhythm, but we were unable to capitalize on our chances," MSU Denver head coach Jeremy Tittle said after the match. "Results like this are hard to swallow. It was in our hands for the taking, but it wasn't our day."

The Roadrunners made CMU goalkeeper Briley Guarneri go to work early, as Guarneri stopped shots by Yannick Schad (Munich, Germany/Theodolinden-Gymnasium) and Jacob Coking (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) in the first 20 minutes. The Roadrunners took four total shots – two on goal – in the opening period, while Colorado Mesa managed six shots and put four on frame. However, the match was still scoreless as the halftime horn sounded.

The battle continued early in the second half as the teams traded shots before Del Mazo found the net on an assist from Peter Vandam. MSU Denver managed just two more shots after the CMU goal as the Mavericks escaped with the 1-0 win to remain unbeaten in conference play.

"We gave a decent push following the goal, but it wasn't enough to tie the match," Tittle said.

Colorado Mesa ended up with the advantage in shots, 10-9, and shots on goal, 5-3. The MSU Denver attack was very balanced, as each of the Roadrunners' nine shots came from a different player. Goalkeeper James Tanner (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens) made four saves in the losing effort as the Roadrunners dropped to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play. MSU Denver is 1-2 against ranked teams this season.

MSU Denver stays on the road for two more matches next weekend. First is a battle with Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo., on Friday at 7 p.m. MT. The Roadrunners will go much farther from home two days later, heading to Rapid City, S.D., for an 11 a.m. Sunday showdown with South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.

Make sure to follow @MSUDenverSports and @MSUDenverMSOC on Twitter for more information ahead of next weekend's matches.