DENVER – Playing her third position in three years,
Kailey Maness took stock of the situation.
"I haven't shot much," Maness said. "But this morning I thought, 'I should really shoot more since I'm a forward.'"
That turned out to be a pretty good idea.
Maness' blast from about 20 yards out in the 40
th minute broke a 1-1 tie and turned out to be the game-winner in MSU Denver's 3-1 victory Thursday over Hawaii Pacific.
Maness' previous goal came in 2019, when she was listed as a defender. She earned All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honorable mention as a midfielder this past spring. And now she's playing up top.
"She's doing great," MSU Denver coach
Kat Mertz said. "We've talked to her about her strengths, and clearly she has tons of pace. She's a gritty player who is determined and reads the game well. We want to utilize those strengths."
Said Maness: "I always look to be more of a playmaker, so it's been an adjustment. But I'm getting the hang of it. I liked playing outside back last season, but I think my heart is in the attack."
The assist on Maness' goal came from
Annie Rolf, the All-RMAC first teamer who also got her first goal of the season in the fifth minute.
"I made a run and I saw Annie look at me," Maness said. "I called for the ball and I kind of had a bad touch at first, but I saw the keeper was out."
Said Rolf: "She just had a great strike. I'm so happy for her. Anywhere you put her, she's going to work her absolute socks off. Her intensity every time she comes on the field is just great."
Rolf's goal helped break the ice for a Roadrunners team that had scored just one goal while playing to two draws over its past two games.
"We talked about coming out quite strong and quite fast," Rolf said. "So getting a goal so early really set the mood for us. It gave us confidence and opened up a world of opportunities."
Her goal came after trading passes with
Katy Harris and then letting it rip from 25 yards out.
"I took my touch and looked up and decided to just have a go," Rolf said.
While Rolf's shot, and Maness' for that matter, were both majestic, the goal scored by Coats in the 50
th minute was special. On a corner kick, she bent it like … well, Coats.
"She can hit those in-swingers," Rolf said. "I saw it coming in, and I could see it dipping, and I knew it was a goal. I don't think I even saw it hit the net. I was already running to her."
Said Mertz: "We like in-swingers. And if you get a good bend, it might go in the goal if someone doesn't put a head on it."
Rolf, who had five goals in eight games last season, now has three assists to go with her first goal in four games this year.
"Oh my goodness she was having some fun in the midfield," Mertz said. "And we want to be able to see that. We want to play quickly. She got the ball off her foot, and she got in on the end of some things."
MSU Denver improved to 2-0-2 and is undefeated through four games for the first time since starting the 2013 season 11-0-3. The Roadrunners play host to Eastern New Mexico on Sunday at noon.
"Our goal is to be undefeated in non-conference and we've got one more game to focus on, and then we'll focus on the RMAC when it gets here," Mertz said.
