DENVER – Yes, MSU Denver is playing a winless men's soccer team on Friday, with one of the league's top teams on the schedule for Sunday.
 
But no, the Roadrunners won't be looking past Friday's 3 p.m. game at Adams State.
 
Not after last season.
 
Adams State was a winless soccer team last year when it came to the Assembly Athletic Complex and stunned the Roadrunners 3-1 on Senior Day. And even though MSU Denver went on the road and beat No. 20 UCCS the following week, the loss to the Grizzlies effectively cost the Roadrunners one of the six spots in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
This year's Adams State team, though 0-12 overall and 0-6 in the RMAC, is much more competitive than last year's team, having allowed 41 goals in 12 games compared to the team that had surrendered 70 in 15 games prior to playing MSU Denver last year.
 
"They play really hard defensively, and they are tough to break down," MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof said. "We're expecting a good fight there. You can see that they definitely have a better team than last year. We don't take anyone lightly. This will be a tough game, in a tough environment."
 
Last year's win by Adams State was its only one in men's soccer in the past 30 games over two seasons, during which it is 1-27-2. Over the last six years, Adams State is 5-74-5.
 
Kirchhof said very little has been talked about regarding last year's game.
 
"We've talked a lot, all year, about just because something happened last year, it doesn't mean it's going to happen this year, one way or the other," he said. "We've talked about embracing the moment and doing everything you can every game, every practice, every recovery, to get better. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves.
 
"Even though our results have been up and down this year, our effort and our mindset has stayed pretty consistent, which is really good."
 
Sunday the Roadrunners will play at Kirchhof's alma mater, squaring off again against his former college roommate in Skyhawks coach David Oberholtzer.
 
Kirchhof directed the Roadrunners to one-goal wins in each of the teams' first three meetings, but Fort Lewis got a measure of revenge in a non-conference game played in Denver on Sept. 24.
 
Fort Lewis, coming off an upset win over then-No. 5 CSU Pueblo, is 8-3-2 overall and has surged to third in the RMAC at 4-1-1 for 13 points.
 
"They're having a good season," Kirchhof said. "But looking at our game against them, we were the team leaving frustrated because we did a lot of good things and just didn't finish a couple of chances here and there. We're looking forward to a good, even matchup between two teams battling to get ready for the RMAC Tournament."
 
With two wins last weekend, MSU Denver (5-7-2 overall) moved into the sixth and final position for the league tournament at 3-3 for nine points with four games left in the regular season.
 
In many ways, the Roadrunners have played well enough to be 7-2-4 overall and 3-1-2 in the RMAC.
 
"Even though we didn't get a lot of results in really tight games early in the season, the guys haven't stopped working," Kirchhof said. "We're playing better soccer each week, and getting a better understanding of what we're trying to do, how we want to attack and how we want to defend. We feel like, hopefully, we're peaking at the right time of year."
 
The Roadrunners are also hoping to be at peak physical condition as they embark upon playing four games in eight calendar days starting Friday.
 
Improved depth throughout the roster has helped, with contributions coming from multiple players at multiple positions. That includes transfer midfielders Luke Bone and Phillie Villlapudua. Their energy has helped buoy their teammates.
 
"Luke and Phillie are both very energetic and are playing very good soccer," Kirchhof said. "They're very good technically and can make the pass to break down the defense and deliver balls to set up goals. They've both really come on the last couple of weeks and have helped us in our attack and with our possession.
 
"They make it very lively in games and training sessions, and they both bring great personalities to the group."