DENVER – The reign of Reigna may be over, but that doesn't mean the MSU Denver women's soccer team has given up on its attempts to ascend to the throne of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
The Roadrunners, who kick off a season-opening stretch of three games in five days with Thursday's 7 p.m. home matchup with 11^th-ranked Western Washington, may have lost one of the most prolific players in program history in Reigna Banks, but third-year coach Tracy Chao has a talented and experienced returning cast on hand.
 
With 24 returning players, many of them having already held key roles, the Roadrunners are seeking to make another step up the RMAC ladder.
 
"Retention is a key piece of the puzzle in success," Chao said. "Especially for building culture and environment and upholding standards. Because now the majority knows what that standard is and what it looks like. That's a big factor."
 
MSU Denver, 10-7-1 last season, was picked by coaches to finish fourth in the league this year after finishing in a fourth-place tie in 2018 with an 8-5 mark.
 
"What I'm excited about is that we've got depth in all positions," Chao said. "We've got players who can come in and give us experience. Our backbone is solid in terms of leadership and experience."
 
The Roadrunners' most experienced player is goalkeeper Erica Torres, who is second in program history with 233 career saves, fourth in goalie games started (45), fifth in both save percentage (.842) and goals against average (0.87) and ranks sixth in wins (23).
 
"She's one of the people who her teammates see as a leader, in all aspects," Chao said. "I can't speak enough of her in terms of selflessness. She will do whatever she needs to do for the program."
 
"Her maturity, demeanor and body language … she's got this confidence that she knows how to get the job done."
 
Replacing Banks is another matter.
 
Considering the past dominance of the MSU Denver program – including Division II national championships in 2004 and 2006 plus two other Final Four trips, two more regional championships and an all-time winning percentage of .675 (477-202-58) – the fact that Banks was able to crack the program's all-time top 15 in goals (ninth, 33) and points (12^th, 73) is significant.
 
She was the RMAC's co-player of the year last season, when she scored 13 goals.
 
But Gabriella Gamboa – who burst onto the scene last year as a transfer from Division I Northwestern State and scored six goals with three assists while earning All-RMAC second team honors – is a good place to start.
 
"She scored a few goals early and people started paying attention, but still at the end of the season she was a big focal point," Chao said. "I don't expect that to change."
 
The Roadrunners got a significant contribution from midfielder Brooklynn Mooney last season after she transferred from Wyoming, and now she has another former Division I running mate in the midfield in Arizona graduate transfer Hailey Mazzola, a former high school teammate.
 
"We've got two Division I transfers," Chao said. "They're experienced players. They just know. They've been there before."
 
Besides Gamboa, MSU Denver also welcomes back contributors such as Brooklynn's cousin Jessica Mooney (one goal, team-high six assists), Paloma Teran (three goals, two assists), Taylor Reising (three goals), Makenna Brassard (two goals), Makayla Duerksen (two goals) and Luna Garcia (one goal, two assists).
 
In fact, besides Banks, the Roadrunners bring back the other 15 players who recorded a point or an assist last season, plus other significant pieces such as defender Jordan Lewis.
 
Now it's a matter of stepping up productivity.
 
"The theory of marginal gains is a theme for us," Chao said. "Can we be 1 percent better in everything we do, every decision we make, on and off the field? It's not about perfection, it's about progression and compounding improvements."
 
Besides Western Washington, MSU Denver will also play host to St. Mary's (Texas) at 1 p.m. Saturday and to St. Edward's (Texas) at 3 p.m. Monday at the Regency Athletic Complex.
 
Western Washington, 18-3-2 regional finalists last year, is once again picked to win the Great Northwest Athletic Conference after going 10-1-1 in league play last year.
 
St. Mary's is picked to finish 10^th in its first season in the Lone Star Conference after going 4-9-1 overall and 1-5-1 in the Heartland Conference last year.
 
Also moving to the Lone Star is St. Edward's, Heartland champions last year after going 11-2-1 overall and 7-1-1 in league play. The Hilltoppers are picked to finish third in the league.
 
MSU Denver will be playing Western Washington for the fourth consecutive season.
 
The Vikings, who are 139-14-10 over the past seven seasons, have beaten MSU Denver 2-0, 1-0 and 2-1 in those games, but the Roadrunners have made strides since 2016, when eventual national champion Western Washington had a shot advantage of 42-2 while putting 12 on goal. The Roadrunners were ranked seventh nationally when losing to then-No. 11 Western Washington last year.
 
"We've got an awesome opportunity to host Western Washington," Chao said. "We've had quality games against them the last two seasons. These games are fun. We're putting ourselves up against some of the best. We want to match up and see how we fare. Then we'll switch gears and worry about St. Mary's (Texas)."