DENVER – MSU Denver may not have gotten the ultimate result it was seeking in a 1-1 tie Saturday against Simon Fraser (B.C.), but it did show something to expect moving forward in women's soccer.
 
"This team is determined to win," midfielder Jaimy Sawaged said. "We've got a lot of seniors on this team, and we're ready to take it to the end to prove people wrong and show people where our stars came from."
 
Those two stars, worn to signify the program's NCAA Division II national championships from 2004 and 2006, respectively, represent the ultimate at this level of the sport.
 
In order for the program to get back to that level, it will have to emerge from a pack in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference behind UCCS and Colorado School of Mines. But the Roadrunners' opening weekend – which included a 3-0 win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday – has given the team a road map of how to play against different styles of teams.
 
"Simon Fraser did a really good job of keeping the ball," first-year MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said. "We had two different games this weekend, which is exactly what we need. We'll see RMAC opponents that play direct (like Texas A&M-Commerce), and RMAC opponents who like to possess and build (like Simon Fraser).
 
"The first half, I thought Simon Fraser did a really good job and kind of confused us a little bit. Then in the second half I thought our effort was way better. That's what you get on the second game of a weekend – it's really hard to win. The energy has to be there."
 
Simon Fraser scored first, in the 37^th minute.
 
But Sawaged replied just over six minutes later, breaking in alone on the right side of field and beating the goalkeeper with a high shot that deflected off the crossbar and into the goal. It was Sawaged's second career goal, and her first since 2019.
 
"I dribbled and looked up and said, 'I've got space,'" Sawaged said. "I've been wanting to score for a very long time. It was kind of a far shot, but I'll take it, and it hit bar down. I said, 'It's in ref, it's in.' He said, 'Yep, I'll count it for you.'
 
"It was a great feeling to get my team back up."
 
Sawaged is one of a deep group of attacking players coming off the bench. Mertz calls them game-changers.
 
"That was a great response, and that's what we need from our game-changers," Mertz said. "Jaimy did a great job. All of our game-changers came in and did absolutely what they needed to do."
 
Said Sawaged: "We have a lot of game-changers on our bench. Kat always says, 'Be ready, you never know when your time is going to come."
 
MSU Denver continued pushing, outshooting Simon Fraser 11-6 after the first half. But the Roadrunners ultimately couldn't get the second goal needed for a victory.
 
"We've got to be able to learn and grow," Mertz said. "We obviously we have liked to have gotten the second goal. I thought we did enough to push to possibly get that second goal, but that's soccer. That's what happens."

One emphasis, Mertz said, will be finding an inner energy for the second game of a weekend. The long-time Division I head coach calls it a key to success.
 
"I call it Sunday soccer," Mertz said, referring to the second game of weekends, which are often on Sunday. "And at any level, that second game of a weekend, especially with only one day off, is really hard. You've got to be fit. You've got to be mentally resilient, and gritty. Championships are won on 'Sunday.'"
 
So, isn't the best, but it isn't terrible either.
 
Meanwhile a tone, a chemistry, is becoming evident with this team.
 
"We came out fighting," Sawaged said. "We had a couple of heads down when the first goal went in, but we kept going. And once I hit that shot I felt like we really got up and we worked for it. We deserved to win. That was a good team, but we have the ability."