DENVER – The MSU Denver men's soccer team, which has matched its best start to a season since 2000 while going 6-1-1 in non-conference play, will seek to continue its strong streak now that the conference portion of the schedule has arrived.
 
And Regis, Wednesday's opponent in the 7 p.m. Hispanic Heritage Night game at the Assembly Athletic Complex, is doubly dangerous.
 
Not only are the 3-5 Rangers coming off a 2-1 win over Fort Lewis (as is MSU Denver), but they are also no doubt seeking to reverse the 3-0 defeat MSU Denver took away from the Regis Turf Field on Sept. 14.
 
"The second game against a team can be very different from the first one," MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof said.
 
For Hispanic Heritage Night, both the broadcast stream of the game, as well as the public address at the stadium itself, will be performed in Spanish. MSU Denver is a federally-designated Hispanic Serving Institution and pays tribute to the culture each year during Hispanic Heritage Month.
 
Last week's game at Regis was played as a non-conference game, so the stakes are raised this time around in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener.
 
At Regis, Aidan Bates had two assists, while Aaron Biggerstaff and Kazuki Peralta scored goals (the third goal has since been changed to an own goal).
 
But Regis matched the Roadrunners with six shots on goal.
 
"When we looked back on video, we saw a lot of positive things, and a lot of things we could clean up," Kirchhof said. "We're looking to do that. Regis has so many great attacking players, and we have to neutralize that. And we have to pass better than we did."
 
Bates leads the Roadrunners thus far with 10 points (three goals, four assists), while Biggerstaff has nine points (four goals, one assist) and Adan Perez has eight points (two goals, four assists). Bryson Chiles has two goals and two assists, and Jonas Votaw has a goal and three assists.
 
Parker Landry, Jackson Vander Ven, Votaw and Andres Arcila Saenz have played the majority of the back-line minutes in front of goalkeeper Ross Miller, who has a goals-against average of 0.75 and an .824 save percentage while playing every minute in goal.
 
"We've had a great defensive mindset, and we have to be willing to do the work – whatever it takes to get the result," Kirchhof said.