DENVER – Depth, resilience and willpower all came into play Sunday when the MSU Denver women's soccer team bounced back from a disappointing tie and then weathered a slow start before eventually wearing down Bridgeport (Conn.) for a 1-0 victory.
 
This weekend figures to be more of the same.
 
The Roadrunners (2-1-1) play host to Central Washington on Friday at 2 p.m. at the Assembly Athletic Complex, then journey 7 ½ hours south for a noon game Sunday at Eastern New Mexico.
 
"I like that different people stepped up when they had the opportunity," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said of last weekend. "Our game-changers (substitutes) came in and had an impact. We showed good resilience in Sunday's match.
 
"We've got good depth, and it shows, and people are hungry to step up and play. And we're going to play the ones who are making a difference."
 
Central Washington is picked to finish seventh in the eight-team Great Northwest Athletic Conference after going 5-13 overall and 4-10 in league play last season, but the Wildcats are off to a 1-1-1 start after playing No. 22 UCCS to a 0-0 tie on Wednesday.
 
It's only the second time the programs have played – the teams played to a 1-1 tie in 2018, when MSU Denver was ranked No. 7 in the country.
 
"They're from a good conference," Mertz said. "It's going to be physical. We've already faced two GNAC teams. They have good players. But it will be nice to play them at home and not on the road."
 
MSU Denver lost 1-0 at Simon Fraser (B.C.) in its season opener, then defeated Saint Martin's (Wash.) 1-0 on the same field two days later.
 
The home-Friday, road-Sunday weekend is an unusual situation, but it also gives the Roadrunners a balance of three home games and three away from home starting the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference portion of the schedule.
 
Meanwhile, Eastern New Mexico, picked last in the 13-team Lone Star Conference, may want to check into becoming an affiliate member of the RMAC. The Greyhounds are 2-1 against RMAC teams this season, and will play a fourth league member Thursday at Fort Lewis before playing their fifth against MSU Denver on Sunday. The Greyhounds finished 2-14-1 overall last season, including a 3-1 loss at MSU Denver, and were 0-11-2 in the Lone Star.
 
But it appears the Greyhounds have improved mightily, and Mertz expects a tough, physical game in a challenging environment.
 
"It will be really good for us going into the RMAC, because we play some of those teams in unfavorable conditions on the road, and we have to find a way to win," she said. "We have to find ways to be outside of our comfort zone and win."
 
While Jaimy Sawaged and Elisa Dean scored goals for MSU Denver last weekend in a tie against St. Edward's (Texas) and the win over Bridgeport, goalkeeper Kylie Bach certainly prevented several in the win over Bridgeport. Bach hasn't allowed a goal in 180 minutes, running her career total to 452 minutes without being scored upon.
 
"She's very good at shot-stopping," Mertz said. "She's very athletic. It was a great game for Kylie."
 
So far, Bach has split time with All-RMAC second team goalkeeper Kayla Caballero, who has given up just two goals in 180 minutes.
 
Meanwhile, several newcomers are being woven into the lineup while many returning players have expanded roles.
 
"We've still got some work to do, and the goal is to be clicking on all cylinders at conference time," Mertz said. "We're growing and learning and working on some situational things that we need to be better at and can see on film. It's nice to be able to take a look at that and learn from it."