DENVER – It only takes one.
 
Which is great for MSU Denver, as the Roadrunners posted their third straight 1-0 home victory in women's soccer, defeating Black Hills State on Wednesday to wrap up the regular season at 10-5-2.
 
"We were obviously dominating the game and their keeper had a huge game for them," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said. "I was proud we were able to get one by and close it out.
 
"I'll take a win. They don't have to be pretty. As long as it's one for us and zero for them, I'll take it."
 
Kailey Maness scored her team-high fifth goal on the rebound of an Annie Rolf shot at 79:45 to highlight a somewhat frustrating game in which the Roadrunners put a staggering 18 of their 29 shots on goal.
 
Black Hills State's Makayla Dannelly was terrific in making 17 saves, but the Roadrunners finally took advantage of one of several shots that she was unable to catch cleanly.
 
"We knew their keeper was good, but sometimes she gives up some rebounds," Mertz said. "The first four shots of the game, we could've been there for the rebound. We talked about effort at halftime. We talked about not being complacent and having some urgency, and making sure that if there's a dropped ball, there'd better be three MSU Denver shirts there right by it.
 
"So I was really excited Kailey was able to do that."
 
Said Maness: "Annie had a solid shot, and I kind of thought it was going in because of the placement of it. Yeaya (Gabriella Gamboa) was right there and I was right there, and it happened to pop out right to my foot. It was good to get one in finally."
 
Captain Jordan Lewis had her thoughts about the goal.
 
"I was about to yell really loud if they didn't finish that," she said.
 
MSU Denver clinched just its second 10-win season since 2014 and the Roadrunners also finished their home schedule undefeated for first time since the 2016 team went 5-0-3. This version of Roadrunners went 9-0-1 at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
"Some games you'll take a set piece," Mertz said. "Some games you'll take a beautiful upper-90 goal. And some games you'll take a rebound. It doesn't matter how it crosses the line, as long as it does."
 
Black Hills State, meanwhile, was able to take only four shots, putting two on goal.
 
Not only is it the Roadrunners' third straight shutout and fifth straight home shutout, they allowed only four goals at home all season – including just one in six Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games.
 
"We did a good job of keeping our head on our shoulders and keeping the ball out of our net," said Lewis, one of the Roadrunners' center backs.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Kylie Bach earned her second start and fifth appearance of the season and made two excellent saves. She hasn't been scored upon in 272 minutes, 38 seconds of work to start her career.
 
"The freshman goalkeepers (Kayla Caballero, also a freshman, is 8-5-2 with an 0.79 goals-against average) have killed it this year and have given us good direction from behind," Maness said. "They've organized our back line. And all the backs have played great this year and really helped us as a team."
 
Said Mertz: "Our defenders are playing really well. Jordy is just playing lights out. And our goalkeeper made a huge save to keep it nil-nil on a counterattack ball, coming off her line to make a big-time save. But Jordy and Elli (Zimmer) are doing a great of locking it down for us."
 
Despite a solid 7-5 record in RMAC play, MSU Denver is locked into the seventh seed for the league tournament, which starts Sunday. The Roadrunners' opponent won't be determined until regular-season play concludes later Wednesday night.
 
MSU Denver has allowed only 11 goals all season, so getting just one goal is often all it takes.
 
"It only takes one," Lewis said of Wednesday's win. "So I'm fine with it."