SALT LAKE CITY – MSU Denver made the necessary adjustments, but couldn't get the equalizing goal and suffered a 1-0 loss Thursday at Westminster in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener in women's soccer for both teams.
 
"We knew Westminster would be a battle," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said. "They have good athletes and are an organized team that really attacks with a lot of numbers. In the first half they took a lot of shots from distance.
 
"In the second half, we played really well. We responded and put them on their heels. I'm disappointed we didn't get the goal to tie it in the second half because we had the better of the chances."
 
MSU Denver had a 7-4 advantage in shots in the second half, but nonetheless dropped to 3-1-2 overall and 0-1 in the RMAC.
 
"We were trying to make sure we kept the ball and moved it," Mertz said. "Annie (Rolf) was lights-out. Katy Harris was lights-out. Our back line did a great job. And all three midfielders had to work really hard – we barely subbed for them."

Elisa Dean put two shots on goal, while Rolf and Katy Coats each had one. Kayla Caballero had three saves.
 
Ultimately Westminster's goal at 28:45, from the top of the box off a rebound of a corner kick, stood up. Westminster, picked to finish fourth in the RMAC, improved to 4-0-1 and 1-0.
 
"We'll learn from this and grow from it, but we've got to be able to put it to rest and move forward," Mertz said. "Westminster is a really good team that has returned a couple of great seniors. We knew this would be a tough battle. But if this is the top of the RMAC, then we're not that far off."