DENVER – When Hank Lewis became MSU Denver's men's soccer coach in August, he was hoping that his team would start hitting its stride by late September.
 
But the schedule has not cooperated, since the Roadrunners have faced an array of some of the best teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference while going 3-5 overall and 1-3 in league play.
 
Now, though, the path may be clearing, but there are a couple of mines – South Dakota Mines and Colorado School of Mines – to worry about this weekend.
 
"We talked about peaking at the right time," Lewis said. "And you can't set aside anybody, but we will have faced a lot of the heavy hitters. We still have hard games coming up, but we've been bruised up by just about everybody who can really knock you out."
 
Homecoming Weekend for the Roadrunners begins with a 6:30 p.m. game Friday against South Dakota Mines (1-5-1, 0-3-1) and then wraps up Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. against Colorado School of Mines (6-2, 4-0).
 
Lewis frequently uses boxing analogies with his team. So, to follow that theme, some of the title contenders that the Roadrunners have fought thus far include Fort Lewis (3-0-1), Colorado Mesa (3-0-1) and Dixie State (3-1).
 
"One thing that guys are both encouraged by, and discouraged by, is that they have stayed in fights with some heavy hitters," Lewis said. "The guys have taken punches, but they've gotten off the mat and kept after it. We think we can take the guy out, but time runs out on us."
 
But Colorado School of Mines, along with Westminster, are the top two teams in the league – disputed champions, if you will, in search of a title unification bout.
 
And the Roadrunners won't want to look past South Dakota Mines, a team they beat twice in one-goal games last year, including at home in overtime.
 
"They are hard to play," Lewis said. "They've gotten better every year. They are difficult to compete against."
 
The Roadrunners earned three regional road wins among their first five games of the season, but after losing at Dixie State they were shut out in back-to-back games at home last weekend by Colorado Mesa and Fort Lewis.
 
They'll look to regroup this weekend.
 
"We're looking to put together more complete transitions through all the zones of the field," Lewis said. "That's a challenge that we've had.
 
"We've done better in generating scoring opportunities, but we need to do better in completing them. And we're looking to be patient with our shot selection. To use the basketball term, passing up a good shot for a great shot. We're technical enough to do that."