DENVER – With three straight home games coming up, and four of the final six at the Assembly Athletic Complex, the MSU Denver women's soccer team has a chance to make a push for a higher seed and a potential home game for the first round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
It starts this weekend as the Roadrunners play host to New Mexico Highlands at 4 p.m. Thursday on Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day before bracing for a noon game Sunday against 18^th-ranked Colorado School of Mines on Latinx Heritage Day.
 
After a quality road trip last weekend when MSU Denver beat Westminster 1-0 and drew with then-No. 4 Colorado Mesa 1-1, the Roadrunners (4-4-4 overall) are fifth in the RMAC table with 10 points (3-1-2). The top four teams at the end of the regular season earn first-round home games for the league tournament.
 
"I try not to look at the points and the standings, but I know my players are," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said. "It's important that we understand what we can accomplish. We've put ourselves in a good position, but now we need to be hungry. We need to really go for it. That takes commitments that they have to follow through with. It's making sure we're doing the right thing on the field and off the field.
 
"This is the time of year where it's exciting. October is my favorite month of the year because of what is at stake. Every game is a championship game. All the points matter. Every team is hunting points. And it's fun to see players step up. You see players rise to the occasion. And I'm excited to see our team rise to the occasion."
 
Slip-ups must be avoided at all costs, and that includes Thursday's matchup with New Mexico Highlands (0-8-2, 0-5-1).
 
"New Mexico Highlands is tough to beat," Mertz said. "Last year it was 1-0 until the (79^th) minute, and then we scored two goals. They play a different system that was difficult for us to break down. It'll be nice to be playing on a bigger field against them this year. We're constantly challenging our players to be focused for these last six games, guaranteed, that we have, and not overlook any opponent. Every point is necessary if we want to achieve our goal at the end of the season."
 
Mines, considered a national-championship contender when it was the RMAC's preseason favorite, has had a couple of curious results while going 7-2-3 overall. At 3-1-2 in league play, the Orediggers are just one point ahead of MSU Denver and are in fourth place. They played to a 1-1 draw against a CSU Pueblo team that MSU Denver beat 3-1 and tied surprising Fort Lewis 0-0. Mines also lost 2-0 to first-place UCCS, which beat MSU Denver 1-0.
 
"They went through a stretch of three games in a row (loss to Seattle Pacific, loss to UCCS, tie with CSU Pueblo) where they dropped points," Mertz said. "For one thing, that shows that they're human. And two, it shows it's going to be a good game. It's always a good game, and they do a great job with their team. It'll be a fun Sunday afternoon."
 
MSU Denver and Mines played two high-scoring games last season, with Mines scoring late for a 3-3 draw in the regular season matchup in Denver before winning 3-2 in overtime in a league-tournament home game.
 
Those high-scoring games are a rarity in the Mertz era. In 50 games since taking over as the Roadrunners' head coach, her teams have posted 25 shutouts while going 22-0-3. Her teams have also had 17 games in which they've allowed only one goal, though that has netted a record of only 4-8-5.
 
Kylie Bach is the reigning RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week after making 20 saves (10 in each game) last weekend, posting a .952 save percentage and an 0.50 goals-against average.
 
"It's part of our DNA," Mertz said. "We talk about team defending. Even our goal against Mesa came from our press. That's something that we really buy into as who we are as a team, and people take pride in it. We've had it with different goalkeepers, and we've been fortunate to have talented goalkeepers, and we've had a talented backline. And I always tell my team that the best way to defend is to keep the ball. So we stress the importance of valuing the ball."