DENVER – It's time to get back on the road again for the MSU Denver men's soccer team.
The Roadrunners, coming off back-to-back 3-2 victories last weekend in games in Lubbock, Texas, travel to CSU-Pueblo for a 7 p.m. match Thursday, then head to Newman (Kan.) for an 11 a.m. MDT contest Sunday.
CSU-Pueblo, which beat the Roadrunners 3-0 during the spring, is off to a 4-1 start. Even though CSU-Pueblo is a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team, this game will be played as a non-conference matchup. The same is the case next week in games against Regis and Colorado School of Mines before league play officially begins Sept. 29.
"Pueblo is a good team," MSU Denver coach
Nick Kirchhof said. "They were great in the spring and they're off to a good start again. Scheduling them is a great benefit for us, because we want to test ourselves against quality opponents in-region."
In the spring, with a short-handed roster and with Kirchhof still just settling in after being hired to lead the program, MSU Denver went 2-5. The Roadrunners scored only four goals (five counting an opponent's own-goal) in seven games.
But they scored six goals last week alone in the wins over both Lubbock Christian (Texas) and Texas-Permian Basin. For comparison, CSU-Pueblo played the same two teams last weekend, beating UTPB 3-0 before losing to Lubbock Christian 1-0 in overtime.
With a couple of wins under their belts, the Roadrunners are looking to continue their momentum.
"The guys should have confidence in themselves and in the system, and in what we're starting," Kirchhof said. "In college soccer, anybody can beat anybody on a given day."
Sam Funnell has scored two goals on free kicks and has three assists, while
Aidan Bates has scored three goals and Gianni Steiljen has a goal and an assist.
"I'm confident that throughout the year, we're going to have guys scoring goals, and that's what's been great so far," Kirchhof said.
Also great has been the work of
Ross Miller, the RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week. Miller made 18 saves in two games last weekend.
Sunday's opponent, Newman, is 0-4 but three of the losses have been by one goal, including a Sept. 5 loss of 1-0 at CSU-Pueblo. The game will be the last of five straight away from home before the Roadrunners play four in a row in Denver (including three at home).
"Newman has been unlucky to not get some results here and there," Kirchhof said. "It's another tough road match. It's another opportunity. We're excited that it will be our last road game for a while, but we want to finish off on a really strong note before we come home."
