GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – With a goal just eight minutes into the match and offensive dominance thereafter, it was sure to be that key road win that helped MSU Denver overcome its early-season scoring woes.
Then, after an unfortunate own-goal in the 81
st minute, it wasn't.
Not again.
No, not again, said the MSU Denver attacking unit, who pieced together a beautiful play in the 106
th minute to put away a tough opponent on the road by a 2-1 final score in double overtime.
It was the first step in bucking the frustrating trend of offensive execution trouble that had the Roadrunners at 2-5 heading into Friday despite clear dominance of opposing teams in nearly every match thus far.
"All the things we've been working on, the adjustments, the focus, just seeing it into action and transferring to the game is huge," MSU Denver head coach
Tracy Chao said after Friday night's big win. "Give (the Roadrunners) credit for taking ownership of the things we're building on and implementing it in."
MSU Denver (3-5-0, 2-1-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) needed to come up with a big road win Friday, and Colorado Mesa (4-3-0, 1-2-0 RMAC) presented the perfect chance for just that.
"We knew it wouldn't be easy," Chao said. "We knew it would be a tough one on the road. The girls worked their butts off."
After coming up short by a 2-1 score despite outplaying CSU-Pueblo last Sunday, the Roadrunners were looking to reverse the momentum early in Friday's match at Walker Field in Grand Junction. MSU Denver knew it simply needed to put the ball in the back of the net, and do so without hesitation.
Sophomore
Paloma Teran certainly didn't hesitate, netting a ninth-minute goal with assistance from
Kailey Maness to put the Roadrunners up 1-0 early.
"We were talking about 'how do we light the match?'" Chao said. "We've been putting fuel in our activity and training sessions, so how do we light the match? That goal lit the match for us."
The match stayed ablaze through the remainder of the first half and well into the second, as the Roadrunners maintained offensive pressure and outshot the Mavericks by a considerable margin.
The flame flickered, though, in the 81
st minute. Colorado Mesa tied the match at a goal apiece as the ball glanced off an MSU Denver defender and into the net on an unfortunate carom.
When discussing what she told her team going into the extra session after what could have been a demoralizing moment, Chao said, "Overtime is about heart, intensity, just all-out grit and grinding it out."
The Roadrunners responded, and the flame received a steady dose of oxygen in the 106
th minute when
Gabriella Gamboa lofted a beautiful ball to the right side as MSU Denver launched a late attack.
Gamboa found
Nayeli Baez, who stayed patient and found a driving
Arantxa Melendez in the box. Melendez picked a good time for the second goal of her young collegiate career, finding the back of the net for the game-winner with just three minutes remaining in the second overtime.
"Maybe in the past, (Nayeli) may have tried to one-time that," Chao said. "(Arantxa) beat the defender to the space for the easy tap-in. I gave (Nayeli) a big hug because her composure is what scored the goal for us."
But it wasn't just a few moments or a few players that secured MSU Denver's big road win.
"It was a full team effort," Chao said. "I thought the energy of the entire team was really fantastic and I think that culture is a big piece of it.
"We created a lot of chances and we put two in tonight – two to get the win," said Chao. "Now the test will be how consistent we can be in our focus to continue to do the things we're doing with intensity, energy, and composure inside the box."
MSU Denver will play at Walker Field again at 11 a.m. Sunday, this time against Western State, for a chance at another conference road win. The Mountaineers are currently playing their home games in Grand Junction while their new field is under construction.
