DENVER – Talk about coaching brilliance.
 
MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof inserted Eduardo Gentile and Alden Bennett into the game with 7:15 left to play Friday night against South Dakota Mines.
 
Twenty-eight seconds later, Bennett set up Gentile for the clinching goal, giving the Roadrunners the final score in their 2-0 victory over the Hardrockers before 1,800 at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
"I love when that happens," Kirchhof said, laughing. "They make you look like a genius as a coach."
 
Bennett, appearing in just his third game of the season, took a pass from Luke Bone and sped down the right side of the field. Gentile knew what to do even before Bennett crossed it low to the left post.
 
"I saw Alden take the guy on, and I knew he was going to pass the ball because there was no angle to shoot it," he said. "So I ran the hardest I could to get on the end of it and just touch it in, and hoped for the best."
 
The best happened.
 
It was the first goal of the season for Gentile, who has appeared in 10 games, starting four.
 
"They've both been training well, and they did exactly what they're supposed to do," Kirchhof said. "Alden drove to the end line and put a good cross, and what was great was that we had multiple guys crashing on that goal – I couldn't even tell who scored. I'm pleased for Eduardo, because it was a good, committed run to score. And that obviously changed the game for us."
 
Said Gentile: "I was just running really hard and trying to make that last goal, so that we could be comfortable and win the game."
 
MSU Denver improved to 4-7-2 overall, but 2-3 and tied for sixth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. With some of the heavy lifting behind them, the Roadrunners have a chance to continue moving up in the table to secure one of six spots in the league tournament.
 
Next up is Sunday's 2:30 p.m. home game with Regis (3-8-2, 1-3-1).
 
"Every game is important," Kirchhof said. "Now we only have five left. Sunday is a big one against our local rival. It's going to be a battle. Both teams are in the same spot almost, and we're fighting to get in. We're expecting a great game from them, but I also expect us to try to assert ourselves and play some good soccer and do whatever we can to get a good result."
 
Said Gentile: "We're confident. We know that we're good as a team. We want to win it, and we're going to go out and do the best we can."
 
After a frustrating scoreless first half in which South Dakota Mines (3-10, 1-4) had the advantage in shots (6-5) and shots on goal (3-0), Aidan Bates' 17^th career goal – and his third of the season – broke the ice at 50:07.
 
MSU Denver had nine shots in the second half, with four on goal. The Hardrockers managed just two shots in the final 45 minutes, and Ross Miller wasn't required to make any more saves in his 11th shutout as a Roadrunner.

"South Dakota Mines came out quicker than us, and we were fortunate not to be down," Kirchhof said. "We talk about something bouncing our way and I think we had a couple of things bounce our way to help us stay in the game. Then it was better in the second half. We put them under pressure more. I think we created plenty of chances, but we just didn't put enough on target. If we do, it's a different game. But I like the fight that we had."
 
On the initial goal, Logan Hitzeman played a long header into the box for Bates to run onto, and he finished to the lower left corner. It was Bates' eighth career game-winner, and Kirchhof liked what he saw from Bates.
 
"If you keep getting in the box, keep moving, keep running, you're bound to find the right spots," Kirchhof said. "I'm sure he's a little disappointed that he didn't put a couple more away today, but he was getting into the good spots and the next key is putting it on target."