LAKEWOOD, Colo. – MSU Denver controlled play and cruised to its first conference win of the season Saturday, catapulting past Colorado Christian 3-0.
 
"We talked about responding after losing Thursday at Westminster and getting our first conference win, understanding how we can make sure we do that, staying fresh and prepared," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said. "And our players did a great job. You could see it with their mindset, their work rate, how they were paying attention to detail, and it showed with the shots that we took and zero against – you've got to love a clean sheet."
 
Kailey Maness scored her second goal of the season at 26:41, Katy Harris got her first career goal at 55:29, then Elisa Dean scored her third goal of the season at 77:40 as MSU Denver improved to 4-1-2 overall and 1-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
Maness' goal came after a corner kick as the Roadrunners continued to keep the pressure on. The ball kicked outside the penalty box to Riley Ostler, who sent it right back in to Maness, and Maness found space for the finish.
 
"We've worked on attacking corners, and we thought we'd be able to get one," Mertz said. "We've talked about movement and service and getting the second ball. We did a good job of keeping it alive, and what a finish by Kailey.
 
"When you get that first goal in a game when you've had the majority of play, it takes the weight off your shoulders. You can settle down and continue to dictate."
 
MSU Denver finished with advantages of 24-6 in shots, 10-0 in shots on goal and 7-0 in corner kicks.
 
Harris' goal came after dribbling through several players and then shooting over the goalkeeper.
 
"We all like to say, 'That was a banger,'" Mertz said. "She's been doing that all the time in practice, so to get that in a game was awesome."
 
Miriam Caballero set up Dean for her first goal since getting two in the season opener.
 
"We've been talking to our wingers about holding their width longer," Mertz said. "And Miriam put it on a platter for Elisa. She went low to the far post, driven hard."
 
Meanwhile Kayla Caballero wasn't called upon to make any saves officially, but held her own with help from the back line led by center backs Elli Zimmer and Jordan Lewis.
 
"They served the ball into our backs quite a bit, and we did a good job of winning balls in the air and winning 50-50 balls," Mertz said. "Elli and Jordy and all our backs did a great job of heading the ball and pushing it forward."