DENVER – Perhaps no team competing for MSU Denver this weekend will appreciate Homecoming Weekend more than the Roadrunners' women's soccer team.
 
MSU Denver has spent the last three weekends on the road, compiling a 2-3-1 record during its September sojourn. The Roadrunners play host to Dixie State (4-1-2 overall, 2-0-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) at 4 p.m. Friday and to Westminster (4-1-2, 1-1-1) at noon Sunday for their first home games at the Regency Athletic Complex since Sept. 9.
 
"We played Dixie twice at their place last year, so it'll certainly be nice to play them at home," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Tracy Chao said. "But in the bigger picture, it's just going to be nice for our team to be back at home. I'm really proud of what they've done the last three weekends on the road. September hasn't been easy for us. So to end it getting four points on the road was huge."
 
The Roadrunners (3-5-1, 2-1-1) picked up an overtime road win last Friday at Colorado Mesa before settling for a tie against Western Colorado in a game that was played on Mesa's field on Sunday.
 
The Roadrunners are hoping to unveil a more consistent offensive attack after not getting wins in several games they dominated statistically.
 
"It's frustrating not beating teams we should beat, because I know our team is so capable," sophomore Jessica Mooney said. "At the beginning of the season, we weren't getting the runs in the box, weren't getting the movement that we needed. But now we've got it down and we just need to work on getting the ball in the back of the net."
 
Mooney, who has been moved from defender to the midfield to take advantage of her abilities, scored two goals in the Roadrunners' Sept. 7 win over St. Mary's (Texas). One of five players on the team with two goals, Mooney said she relishes the opportunity to contribute more on the offensive end.
 
"I like midfield more," she said. "I don't really like defense. Tracy knows that. It's been an adjustment, because I've never played there before.
 
"I started playing defense (as a younger player) to go forward in the first place, being on the outside, taking it up and crossing it in. But college is really competitive and fast-paced, so it's harder for me to get forward from the back, because then I have to get all the way back again."
 
Mooney had a team-high six assists last year as a freshman, with several of those coming as she served in corner kicks.
 
Chao said Mooney's development and work ethic stands out.
 
"Her role from her freshman year to now has grown a ton," Chao said. "She's part of our leadership group. And her training mentality, and how intrinsically motivated she is, is huge. She's so driven. She doesn't play perfectly all the time, but her drive and her will continues to be at the forefront and keeps her in areas of the field that are dangerous, keeps her in the game when she makes mistakes."
 
Said Mooney: "I think it's important to train the way you play. In my club practices, we would always train way harder than we played. Training is getting ready for the game, not practice for the game. I try to train at really high intensity, keep the energy going and keep practice flowing and make it really competitive so that we're getting something out of it."
 
It's a mentality that rubs off.
 
"She trains just as hard as she plays in the game," Chao said. "That's something that is refreshing to see. Her talent meets her work ethic. Commitment, opportunity and responsibility equals excellence. And she has excelled for us.
 
"The way she trains, she makes her teammates around her better. They work harder because of her. We need more of that. It's been fun watching her development from her freshman year. Watching her maturity and her sophistication to her game grow, as well as watching her grow as a person off the field, has been fun to see."
 
It should be fun to see the Roadrunners back home again, too.
 
"It's nice to have the comfort of your own surroundings and play with your home crowd," Chao said. "It's Homecoming Weekend, so everything going on around that will hopefully hype us. Our family fan base, and our overall fan base, has been great, so that's exciting to have that in our corner."