DENVER – Oh so close. Again.
The MSU Denver women's soccer team showcased its considerable potential again Sunday in a 1-0 loss to first-place UCCS in a hard-fought Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game.
The Roadrunners, behind a spectacular career-best 10 saves by
Kylie Bach, kept pace with UCCS until the Mountain Lions scored a quality goal at 75:30.
"Overall we did pretty well, it's just that unfortunately we didn't get one in the back of the net," Bach said. "Next time."
Bach kept the Roadrunners in range with multiple outstanding saves, including eight in the first half alone.
"We see that every day in practice," Mertz said. "To see her maturity, and to see her develop – even from preseason to now – she's made a huge jump. Give credit to Cam (Chacon), or our goalkeeper coach, and the whole goalkeeper crew. The training environment makes you competitive and makes you better.
"Kylie has done a great job. There's some things we're going to try to make her better at, but that's the standard for everyone on the team. She's been really consistent for us."
Bach had a sprawling three-saves-in-18 seconds scramble in the eighth minute as part of her acrobatic work in front of the net.
"A lot of adrenaline was kicking in," she said. "I was just trying to do my best to do my job."
UCCS, receiving votes in the national top 25 poll, improved to 6-2-2 overall and is the RMAC's only unbeaten team in league play at 4-0.
MSU Denver is 3-4-3 overall and 2-2 in the RMAC, tied for sixth in the table with six points.
"UCCS is hard to score on and is playing really well right now," Mertz said. "We knew it was going to be a tactical battle. And it's Sunday soccer and we knew we would have to be able to grind it out. Unfortunately, UCCS found a way to grind it out."
The Roadrunners will be tested again this week, with away games Friday at Westminster (4-3-1 overall, 2-1 RMAC) and Sunday at No. 5 Colorado Mesa (8-0, 3-0).
"This is a fun team," Mertz said. "Part of soccer is weathering the storm. We're still a little young in understanding that. It's ebbs and flows in soccer. There's times you're going to be on your heels.
"We talked to our team about being competitive, but also composed. There were plenty of times where we would regain possession of the ball and then we would turn it right back over again. Against a good team, you can't do that. So it felt like we were on our heels a lot. The best way to defend is to keep the ball. In those moments, we need to have some leadership to step up, calm us down and take hold of the ball and take a breath."
