COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – This isn't over yet.
 
The MSU Denver men's soccer team went on the road Friday night and knocked off No. 20 UCCS 2-1 to stay alive in its bid for a spot in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
"UCCS is a very good team, and they passed it very well, and you can understand why been they've been so good," MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof said. "But we did enough on the night to get the result. Everyone on the team did their jobs, and we got what we wanted out of the performance.
 
"It was a tough, gritty win on road, and I couldn't be happier for the guys after a bit of a letdown last weekend."
 
Tanner Stevenson scored in the first minute of the game and Adan Perez scored on a breakaway at 16:25 as MSU Denver earned its first win over a ranked team since a 1-0 victory against St. Edward's (Texas) on Sept. 2, 2018.
 
More importantly, the Roadrunners improved to 10-5-2 overall and 4-4-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
With 13 standings points in league play, MSU Denver now sits seventh in its attempt to finish in the top six and reach the RMAC Tournament. The regular season concludes Sunday, with MSU Denver playing at 11^th-ranked CSU Pueblo.
 
With a tie for one point, combined with a Colorado Mesa win over Colorado Christian, the Roadrunners would (unofficially) qualify for the tournament as the sixth seed. Should Mesa beat Colorado Christian and Adams State upset Regis, the Roadrunners would (unofficially) be the fifth seed.
 
If MSU Denver could spring a second-straight upset and beat CSU Pueblo to get to 16 points, the Roadrunners could be as high as the fifth seed. But wins by both Colorado Christian and Regis would knock MSU Denver out of the tournament, regardless of the outcome against CSU Pueblo.
 
"All year, we've taken every game just one at a time and not overlooked anyone – in this conference you can't do that," Kirchhof said. "Pueblo is a great team as well. But this is exactly what you want – you play a game that matters on the last day of the season. That's what you dream about as a kid and that's why you work so hard. Sunday is an elimination day."
 
After taking the early lead Friday, MSU Denver relied on stellar goalkeeping by Ross Miller, who made eight saves, none more impressive than his stop with 7:33 to go on a shot by high-scoring Kolby Raineri. For one final bit of drama, on a free kick with six seconds left from about 45 yards out, Miller made one final stop.
 
"UCCS takes a lot of shots and the save Ross made (with 7:33 left) was absolutely incredible," Kirchhof said. "He picked it out of the top corner. That was a world-class save. Everyone from UCCS thought it was in before Ross got the touch."
 
UCCS (10-4-4, 5-3-2) took 28 shots on the night to just nine by the Roadrunners, and also had a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal and a 12-3 margin in corner kicks.
 
Nifty passing set up Stevenson for his first goal of the season just 47 seconds into the contest, and Alec Rodriguez earned his first assist of the year.
 
"To me, that's mindset," Kirchhof said. "We got a great goal right away. We've been talking all year about how you can't pick when your chances come, you have to choose to be ready. Everyone was in the right spot, and it was a great slip by Alec and a composed finish by Tanner."
 
On the second goal, Alec Nguyen sent a long pass to a sprinting Perez, and he finished from near the top of the box for his fifth goal of the year.
 
MSU Denver posted its second 10-win season since 2016.