DENVER – Just to say it, and get it out of the way first … the MSU Denver women's soccer team was tantalizingly close to another big victory before giving up a late goal and settling for a 2-2 tie Thursday night against UCCS.
"We are so close to putting together a full 90 minutes," MSU Denver coach
Kat Mertz said.
The Roadrunners rallied from a 1-0 deficit and took a 2-1 lead on
Tessa Killmon's goal at 70:58 and again picked up one standings point from a team they lost to one the road last season.
But MSU Denver was ultimately somewhat dejected after giving up a goal on a penalty kick with 55 seconds left.
It's the fourth time the Roadrunners (5-2-4 overall, 1-1-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) have given up the tying (three times) or winning (once) goal in the final three minutes.
"I think we performed very well, and it's a good look into what we can do in the future," Killmon said. "It's a good gauge of what we're capable of."
UCCS, ranked eighth in the national preseason poll but unranked the past three weeks, is now 6-2-3 and 3-1-1.
"It was a good game," Mertz said. "I think if I was a fan, I would have been entertained. There was a lot of action on both sides, tactical adjustments on both sides."
Trailing 1-0 at halftime after a mishap on a clearing attempt, the Roadrunners were fiery in the second half.
"I think everyone was frustrated by the goal we gave up, and I think we channeled that frustration into determination," Mertz said. "And you saw it. I was really proud of that effort, and if we can put together that effort moving forward, I think we're a scary team to play."
Said Killmon: "We changed our formation and our mentality was to get after it, go at them, high pressure. Get a goal. Get a couple goals. We wanted to take it to them, and I think we did."
Elli Zimmer converted a penalty kick at 57:45 to tie the game.
Then Killmon got her goal as a throw in towards the box when to
Luna Garcia, then to
Elisa Dean, then finally back to Garcia who flicked it with the outside of her foot to Killmon in front.
"It was just getting after it, and then it was doing the most with the time that I had in there," Killmon said. "I took it off the touch, it was bouncing, and I struck it with my laces. I said, 'I hope that goes in.' And it did."
Said Mertz: "I'm really happy for Tessa. She's been doing really well at practice. She hadn't played the last two games, but it had nothing to do with her. Some of it was the formation, some of it is the players we're playing.
"I knew she was going to be ready, and I knew this was going to be a perfect game for her – the style that she plays. She's really good in a two-front. She really understands how to play that."
The tie allowed MSU Denver to extend its home unbeaten streak to 17 games, dating to the start of last season, which is the longest such streak since the program's NCAA Division II record 61-game home winning streak from 2002 through 2006.
"At first it's disappointing, because it was the last minute of the game," Killmon said. "But we have to focus on Sunday. Coach says championships are won on Sunday, and we have to focus on that now. It's time to put this one behind us and remain focused on what's coming up."
CSU Pueblo comes to the Assembly Athletic Complex for a 2:30 p.m. game Sunday that will wrap up MSU Denver's Homecoming Weekend. A repeat of Thursday's huge and enthusiastic crowd of 424 and probably won't be on hand, but that shouldn't matter.
"It's awesome to play under the lights in front of a packed stadium," Mertz said. "And I couldn't be more thankful for all the fans who came out tonight.
"But it's hard to play on a Sunday afternoon when you're tired and it's hot and you've already played a game. And that's where you see the desire, the discipline, the execution of the game plan. And that's when you see game-changers (key reserve players) come in and make a difference. A lot of people played heavy minutes for us today and we're going to need fresh legs on Sunday."
