DENVER – It was a great chance that nearly turned into something big.
 
"Don't give up, that's what Kat always says," MSU Denver forward Jaimy Sawaged said. "Every play matters."
 
And then it did turn into something big.
 
"Jaimy not giving up on that ball just shows you a little bit of belief, a little bit of trying to make something out of nothing," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said.
 
Sawaged stayed in pursuit of the ball and suddenly, when the Westminster goalkeeper miscalculated her dive, there was Sawaged alone with the ball.
 
"Katy Coats gave me a beautiful ball," Sawaged said. "I think the keeper reached for it and it kind of swerved around her. And I was like, 'Great, it's me and the net.' And I was very scared I was going to miss it."
 
She didn't.
 
Sawaged's goal at 51:07 tied Thursday night's game with Westminster, and that wound up the final score in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener for both teams at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
To set up the score, Tessa Killmon deftly tapped the ball with the outside of her right foot over to Coats, who had space in the attacking third. Coats then sent a pass ahead of the speeding Sawaged toward the goal line, right of the goal.
 
Sawaged scored for the second time this season and for the seventh time in her career.
 
Like on MSU Denver's goal, misfortune affected the goalkeeper when Westminster scored at 18:52 as Kylie Bach miskicked a clearing attempt that went straight to the Griffins' Madison Schmidt, who knocked in a shot from there, just outside the goal box.
 
The score snapped Bach's streaks of 309 minutes this season and 581 minutes for her career without allowing a goal.
 
"As a former goalkeeper, I've been there, and it was kind of a one-for-one deal," Mertz said of both goals. "It happens.
 
"Kylie was able to rebound from that and make some good saves. I like how we responded. I was happy with the result coming back from being down a goal. Westminster is a great team and we knew they would be tough to beat. We'll take a point and stay undefeated at home."
 
Said Sawaged: "It's a good feeling to get the first point in the conference."
 
MSU Denver, 4-1-2 overall, is now 2-0-2 at home this season and 11-0-3 at home since Mertz took over as head coach last season.
 
The Roadrunners gained some measure of revenge against Westminster – one of the five RMAC teams to beat MSU Denver last season when it went on the road. All of those teams come to the Assembly Athletic Complex this season.
 
"We stayed undefeated at home," Sawaged said. "I think it's going to be a good battle with those teams, but this is our home turf and we want to protect it. I think there will be different outcomes – hopefully more wins than ties, but we're excited to bring everyone here."
 
The Roadrunners play host to Colorado Christian on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
"Sunday soccer is always a tough one," Sawaged said. "Two days of rest and then right back out. But we're excited to play and excited to get some points."