DENVER – Not much happening this week for the MSU Denver men's soccer team.
 
Other than fighting to keep their bid for the RMAC Tournament alive against their crosstown rivals on Wednesday, and then playing another potentially key Senior Night game on Friday.
 
First up is Wednesday's 6 p.m. game at the Assembly Athletic Complex against Colorado School of Mines.
 
Both teams are currently tied for fifth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings with 13 points, but the team that loses – or potentially one of the teams should they tie – is in danger of missing out on the six-team league tournament if form holds throughout the conference for the rest of the final week of the regular season.
 
MSU Denver is 6-7-3 overall and 4-3-1 in the RMAC, while Mines is 5-5-5 and 4-3-1.
 
"It's a good game, a playoff game before the playoff games," MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof said. "We both know what's at stake. I expect this to be a very energetic, high-flying playoff-type atmosphere. They're hard-working. They can defend well. They can attack well. They're a complete team.
 
"But I do think we're playing some of our best stuff right now. We've done a great job of limiting our opponents' opportunities, and we've definitely been capitalizing on ours. I'm very confident in our chances, with how we've been playing, if we can match the effort, the energy and the fight, and the compete."
 
After that is Friday's 6 p.m. Senior Night game against Colorado Christian.
 
Playing their final regular-season home game at the Assembly Athletic Complex will be goalkeeper Ross Miller, forwards Aidan Bates and Tanner Stevenson, and midfielder Logan Hitzeman.
 
"I can't thank those guys enough for all the time they've put in," Kirchhof said. "They've definitely helped us push forward and they've had some great performances together.
 
"They've definitely all had really positive impacts on the field, off the field and in the locker room. They're important guys, and we'll definitely miss them when they move on."
 
Miller and Bates are three-year members of the program.
 
"The first time I talked with Aidan and Ross was over e-mail, right after I got the job, during COVID," Kirchhof said. "That almost seems like a lifetime ago when you think about how crazy things were."
 
Bates is a creative forward who has received All-RMAC first and second team honors his first two seasons, and he is a past all-region second team selection. He's tied for 15^th in program history with 18 goals and tied for ninth with eight career game-winning goals. He also has eight career assists and has played more than 3,200 minutes.
 
"I knew Aidan was a great goal scorer in high school, and seeing his highlights I knew he was someone who could make a great impact," Kirchhof said. "I thought our style would fit well for him. His first year, I think we would have been really in trouble without him and his goal-scoring presence. And over the past couple of years he's become a more complete soccer player. He's become a better defender, a better passer."
 
Miller, counting his time at Chowan (N.C.), leads all active NCAA goalkeepers, regardless of division, with 6,903.52 minutes played, and he's fourth among active Division II keepers in saves (264) and sixth in shutouts (19). At MSU Denver, he's fourth in saves (215), and fifth with 24 wins. He's been a four-time RMAC Goalkeeper of the Week as well as an All-RMAC honorable mention selection. He's also starred in the classroom while twice being named a D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner, earning Academic All-District honors and being named to the Academic All-RMAC first team.
 
"Ross had to stand on his head for us for a while," Kirchhof said, a nod to the need for his spectacular saves. "I'm really thankful that we've had three years with him. He's been an incredible shot-stopper, a great team leader, and one of those guys who is an emotional leader who can drive the group forward."
 
Stevenson is a two-year member of the program who carved out a niche with his crafty play while contributing three goals and six assists and playing more than 1,300 minutes for the Roadrunners. He is a D2ADA Academic Achievement Award winner, and he has also been a member of the MSU Denver Athletic Director's honor roll.
 
"Tanner is a really smooth, great soccer player," Kirchhof said. "He has a great cleverness to his game. He can break down defenses. He's another guy who is always a positive locker-room guy. Even though he's quiet, he always has a smile on his face and always brings positive energy."
 
Hitzeman returned home for his final season of eligibility after four years as a regular player at South Carolina. He's contributed two assists while playing 700 minutes this season.
 
"We've been able to work with Logan for about a year now since he came in the spring, and it's been great," Kirchhof said. "He's a player with tremendous ability, and he's one of those guys who has assimilated so well into the group by just being a humble, hard-working player."
 
Those four, plus their teammates, will be attempting to cement their legacy on Friday.
 
The Roadrunners will be playing their fourth game in eight days while Colorado Christian (4-5-6, 2-3-3) will be playing its first game in seven days.
 
"I don't know what we did to deserve this," Kirchhof said, smiling. "Four games, the last week of the season, is a grind. But all our other opponents had to go through it at some point during the season, so I'm not complaining, but it's definitely a challenge.
 
"And Christian has a week off before playing us, so I'm assuming they'll be extremely prepared. That's a tough team to play against – they compete really hard, they're organized, and their players play hard for each other."