DENVER – It's a big weekend for the MSU Denver women's soccer team.
 
Not only are the Roadrunners attempting to at least maintain – if not substantially improve – their standing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference table, they will also be honoring eight key performers at Sunday's Senior Day game.
 
"This is the last class that I inherited, and I say year after year how lucky I've been in terms of the quality of people that I inherited," third-year Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Tracy Chao said. "They truly believe in what we are doing and they have been committed to it.
 
"Transitioning from one coaching staff to another is never easy, and they have done it with class and commitment and passion, desire and focus."
 
MSU Denver (6-8-2 overall, 5-4-2 and tied for sixth in the RMAC) plays host to city rival Regis (9-4-2, 7-3-1 and third) on Friday at 3:30 p.m. before Sunday's 11 a.m. Senior Day matchup with Black Hills State (3-10-1, 3-6-1).
 
Before the game the Roadrunners will send off goalkeeper Erica Torres, defender Makenna Brassard, forward Bry Sanchez and midfielders Mackayla Duerksen, Brooklynn Mooney, Nayeli Baez, Kayla Sheppard and Hailey Mazzola.
 
"The weirdest thing is going to be waking up and not seeing the other girls every day any more," Sheppard said. "You've been working for 19 years playing soccer, and now it's coming to an end. You start to realize who you are without soccer, without your sport, without your teammates by you. Now you're going into adulthood."
 
The class includes five-year players such as Sanchez, a number of four-year veterans, a two-year player in Mooney, and Mazzola, who is playing one season as a graduate transfer.
 
"We're really diverse," Sanchez said. "It's interesting that some of us have come at different times. We have a lot of different experiences.
 
"It's exciting, but a little sad, that everything is coming to an end. I've been here the longest of all the seniors. It's kind of ending another chapter."
 
Four of the Roadrunners' seniors are from Colorado, three are from California. Sanchez is from Arizona.
 
For long distance connections such as Duerksen, there will be more than just high emotion. Motivation is strong, too with playoff positioning on the line.
 
"We've all kind of realized that this could be our last one," she said. "It's basically elimination. We're only guaranteed these two games. And it's fun to play for our family again."
 
A capsule look at each of the seniors:
 
Erica Torres is among the storied MSU Denver program's all-time leaders in wins (tied for fifth, 29), saves (second, 275), save percentage (eighth, .811) and goals-against average (seventh, 0.99).
 
"She been so consistent," Chao said. "You know what kind of player she is and what she brings every year. She's always going to be one of the fittest players, even though goalkeepers don't run as consistently as field players, and her range of activity in a game is shorter distances. To be committed to being one of the fittest says something about her commitment to leading the team.
 
"And she cares and thinks about everyone else first, puts the team ahead of herself."
 
Makenna Brassard, like Torres, is one of the team's captains, has been a three-year mainstay as a defender and is consistently among the team leaders in minutes played. She has scored three career goals.
 
"Makenna is such an easygoing person," Chao said. "She's one who always says, 'I don't care if you're hard on me. Tell me the truth. I can take it.' She's got great toughness. And she's so positive and energetic. Of our captains, she's the one who is the most natural vocal leader. She can comfortably communicate and energize our team."
 
Brooklynn Mooney is in her second year in the program after playing two seasons at Wyoming. She has totals of three goals and four assists as a Roadrunner.
 
"Brooklynn, selfishly, I wish we had four years with her," Chao said. "She's been fun getting to know, and she fit in with the team right away and became a major part of what we're doing. She's an unsung hero. The grit work she does on the field is really cool. I just like watching her play, on and off the ball. She a very unemotional player on the field, but she's actually one of the goofier players on the team. She's a top-notch player and competitor, and is someone who has helped change the program."
 
Hailey Mazzola, a high school teammate of Mooney's, came to MSU Denver as a graduate transfer after playing three seasons at Arizona. She has one goal and one assist while playing major minutes.
 
"She just joined us for one year, but her personality and ability to fit in right away was really cool to see," Chao said. "You can tell she's a competitor and still wants to learn. She has such great experiences in the Pac-12 with Arizona, but she's been so open-minded and that was a really cool thing, to see her be a part of what we're doing. Her physical presence, and her personality, are both just big."
 
Sheppard and Duerksen are wrapping up their careers with a year of eligibility remaining.
 
Mackayla Duerksen plays the midfield with passion.
 
"She was coming off so many injuries and just battling to keep her body playing and competing at this level," Chao said. "Major hat's off to her for that resilient attitude. And that's how she plays – she's a fighter. And she has been more verbal this year than I've ever seen, which has been cool to see."
 
Kayla Sheppard has been forced to show her passion in other ways in recent years.
 
"She has fought injuries," Chao said. "Her career has been a wave of different adversity, but I'll tell you, in terms of someone who is non-stop 'on,' whether she is on the sidelines or on the field, her energy is non-stop. She's a big personality and her shoes are going to be hard to fill."
 
Bry Sanchez, who took a medical redshirt in 2017, has one goal in each of her four full seasons. Three of the goals have been game-winners.
 
"I'm sure Bry would say the same thing and that's, 'We've had our moments,'" Chao said, laughing. "And what resonates with me is her maturity and how she's been able to be a really great teammate, a great person and a great player. This has been her best season, on and off the field. It's cool to see her relationships grow with the younger players. She's been a fun kid to have, usually riding next to me in my van (on road trips) having conversations with me."
 
Nayeli Baez scored her first career goal last year and has had two critical assists on game-winning goals this year.
 
"Nay is a funny one," Chao said. "She another one you enjoy having conversations with and joking with. Her trajectory has been challenging in continuing to use her skill on the ball. She's extremely technical and sees the game really well. We've always wanted her to have a little more edge, and she's gotten to a point this year that she's done that."
 
The edge for Baez is obvious heading into the weekend.
 
"Emotions are definitely going to be very high," Baez said. "I'm not ready to be done. I don't think any of the seniors are. We've been battling all week in practice, from our freshmen to our seniors."
 
The Roadrunners hope to have it carry over this weekend.
 
"The points we get seal our fate," Chao said. "If we don't get points, things can happen. What I love is that we control our own fate. We don't have to win and hope something else happens. If we win, we seal our fate."