DENVER – MSU Denver broke out of a scoring slump on Friday and rolled to a 4-1 victory over South Dakota Mines in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men's soccer.
"It's nice to score lots of goals, but we talk a lot about how we play," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach
Hank Lewis said. "Whether we win or lose, it's the manner in which we play that we focus on."
Lewis liked what he saw Friday.
The Roadrunners (4-5 overall, 2-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) came out flying, with Vincius Krusser getting the start at one forward spot and dancing around defenders to highlight the game's early minutes. Krusser then cashed in for his first goal of the season – and third of his career – in the 26
th minute, dribbling with two defenders in the area before scoring on a 20-yard shot.
Brazilian magic, Lewis called it.
"Ian (Oltman) was yelling at me, so I wasn't sure if I should pass or let the ball go through," Krusser said. "When I got the ball, the (defensive) guy had his legs wide open … so it happens naturally."
Sam Funnell took a through ball from
Yannick Schad and scored his second goal of the season to make it 2-0 in the 43
rd minute.
When South Dakota Mines (1-6-1, 0-4-1) scored a minute into the second half to make the Roadrunners a little uncomfortable,
Jaime Gutierrez scored on a penalty kick in the 63
rd minute for his third goal of the season.
And then
Bryce Montes – denied the first goal of the game because the Roadrunners were offside – scored his first career goal in the 89
th minute, delighting the Homecoming Weekend crowd of 379 at the Regency Athletic Complex.
"What's special is we had Vinnie and Bryce and a couple of other players take on the role of playing an uptempo game and putting more energy into what they did," said Lewis, who had Montes playing in an attacking position more than normal. "And you could see that at the beginning and the end of the game."
Meanwhile
Nick Jansen got his first start in goal and posted four saves.
"I felt confident, a little nervous playing my first game," Jansen said. "I had a little shake up and gave up a goal – that should have been a shutout for me. But you learn and keep going, and hopefully I get another opportunity on Sunday."
Said Lewis: "He had a great week in training. We have two great goalkeepers. When you can, you try to make sure that everyone has some seasoning. It gave him a chance to play and prove himself."
In snapping a three-game losing streak, the Roadrunners moved up to a tie for seventh place in the RMAC table, just three points – or one win – out of fifth.
They'll be looking to double up their success Sunday, but the 2:30 p.m. match won't be easy with first-place Colorado School of Mines (7-2, 5-0) coming into the RAC.
"I think we've had a really good offensive team," Krusser said. "Now we're focusing on the next Mines. We should be getting on a streak."
