DENVER – It's that time of year for the MSU Denver women's soccer program.
 
Conference time.
 
The Roadrunners, 3-0-2 in non-conference play, hit the road for two games this weekend to initiate Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. MSU Denver plays at Westminster on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before returning to the metropolitan area for an 11 a.m. game Sunday at Colorado Christian.
 
"Everyone is 0-0, and everyone has a clean slate," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said. "And everyone knows that anything can happen on a given day. We just have to stay humble and hungry and understand that we had a good non-conference, but so did Westminster (3-0-1). We truly are taking it one game at a time and just trying to grow from what we did in non-conference."
 
While MSU Denver was picked to finish eighth in the RMAC's preseason coaches' poll, Westminster was picked fourth. But the Roadrunners have gotten some recognition for their best start since 2013 – in the United Soccer Coaches' South Central Region rankings, MSU Denver is No. 9. (Westminster is No. 5.)
 
Those rankings aren't related to the official NCAA Division II regional rankings that are issued over the final few weeks of the season, but they do serve as an early measuring stick.
 
The conference opener will be an early measuring stick, too. During the spring season, Westminster came to the Assembly Athletic Complex and left with a 3-1 victory over the Roadrunners.
 
"They're good," Mertz said. "They're really athletic and organized. Their backs are really strong. They put a lot of pressure on you. It's a game where we'll want to make sure we have enough support around the ball and have a good tempo.
 
"One of their strong points is their attack in transition. They get forward quickly and have a good tempo. We'll have to try to slow them down. They're good in the air, too. They're one of the best teams we've seen so far."
 
MSU Denver counters with an attack led by Katy Coats (three goals, one assist), Annie Rolf (one goal, three assists) and Elisa Dean (two goals). Center backs Jordan Lewis and Elli Zimmer anchor the defense, and true freshman Kayla Caballero is already a two-two RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week winner.
 
"Our backs (including starting outside backs Katy Harris and Kate Giordano) have been really good," Mertz said. "Katy Harris is a baller. We have a good rotation with our outside backs (including Dani Nelson), which is important. Up top we have players who can get in behind the defense or play-make. Paloma (Teran) hasn't gotten a goal yet, but she's a good player and she's knocking on the door."