DENVER – Bry Sanchez got her shot.
 
And she wasn't going to miss it.
 
"I think I've had my fair share of misses already," Sanchez said. "So I was going to finish that one."
 
Sanchez scored with 13:46 left in regulation on Sunday to lift MSU Denver to a 1-0 victory over Fort Lewis in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's soccer at the Regency Athletic Complex on Cancer Awareness Day.
 
It completed a six-point weekend for the Roadrunners, who improved to 5-6-2 overall and are in sole possession of fourth place in the RMAC with 14 points (4-2-2).
 
"Two wins on the weekend is never easy in this league," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Tracy Chao said. "We knew this would be a tough one. Completing the weekend was our emphasis."
 
Sanchez, a senior, just wanted to make sure she completed her fourth career goal and first of the season.
 
Gabriella Gamboa sent a long cross into the box for Nayeli Baez, drawing Fort Lewis goalkeeper Britt Blomso well away from the goal. Baez niftily touched the ball around the keeper and then passed it back to the middle for Sanchez, who had a wide-open net in front of her.
 
She drilled it.
 
"I'm de-stressed," Sanchez said. "I feel relieved. It's exciting that it was a game-winning goal, and we didn't have another overtime game."
 
MSU Denver's two-game winning streak has come after a stretch where it went 1-1-2, with three of the four games going overtime while the other was a 1-0 defeat.
 
"It's a breath of fresh air," Sanchez said. "We've had kind of a roller-coaster season. All the hard work we've been doing, the stuff we've been working on, it's starting to pay off."
 
The Roadrunners have given up a total of one goal over their last four games and three goals in their last six. Erica Torres had four saves to post the 25th shutout of her career, tying Becca Maloney (2007-08) for third on the school's all-time list.
 
"Torres has been stellar between the posts," Chao said. "It's hard when you may get only two or three shots on goal against you and you never know when they'll come. To stay plugged in for those two or three is super important.
 
"And our defending, not just from our back line, but from the forwards back, has been tremendous. Our shape and our effort have been really good. We've forced a lot of turnovers."
 
And everything was rewarded when Sanchez, set up by Baez, scored. Baez had the assist on the game-winning goal in similar fashion, waiting out a defender, to set up Arantxa Melendez in the 2-1 overtime victory at Colorado Mesa on Sept. 27.
 
"Nay has two choices," Chao said. "She can one-time it, or – sort of like the Mesa moment – where her experience to just take a touch around her and know that we had numbers in the box, plus the communication from another veteran like Bry, it makes such a difference to have that composure."
 
And while Sanchez is hard on herself – she has taken 14 shots this season, with seven on goal – getting one in the back of the net seemed to be a matter of time.
 
"She's been striking the ball really well," Chao said. "And that was a great finish."
 
With former assistant coach Dave Carver on hand for Cancer Awareness Day, it was the result was a fitting finish for the Roadrunners.
 
"He's been a friend of mine for a long time," Chao said. "We had him speak to the girls before the game, and it was good to hear from him again – we miss him in the locker room. I told the girls, if you need to be motivated by something right now, be motivated by somebody going through something that's difficult, then look it in the perspective of your life. Here's somebody essentially fighting for his life. As part of human nature, I think we forget that people are going through such difficult things."
 
Said Sanchez: "I've spent a lot of time with Dave, and finding out about his condition was heart-breaking. Just seeing him today brought a lot of emotions out."