GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The MSU Denver women's soccer team wrapped up a successful road weekend with an impressive 1-1 draw Sunday against Colorado Mesa, the team ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division II.
"It was a good game," MSU Denver coach
Kat Mertz said. "Clearly they have a great team with a lot of firepower up top. We should have put one away in the first few minutes of the game, and they probably could've, too – it was an exciting first 10 minutes.
"There were some tactical adjustments made by both teams. They were on us in the first half for sure, but we talked about bending and not breaking and not losing our composure. Our game-changers came in off the bench and made a difference. Then in the second half, we made some adjustments and we were able to settle down."
Brooklyn Gold scored in front off a pass from
Meg Gonzalez to give the Roadrunners a 1-0 lead at 52:37, but Mesa was able to score the equalizer at 58:54. Gold's goal was her second of the season.
"We had some good tempo, and we looked composed and confident," Mertz said. "It was nice to get a goal with our outside back (Gonzalez) coming forward and serving it to the box. That's something we've been missing."
The teams stayed deadlocked the rest of the way as MSU Denver moved to 4-4-4 overall and 3-2-1 for 10 points and fifth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Colorado Mesa, which didn't win for the first time all season, is now 9-0-1 overall and 4-0-1 for 13 points and third in the RMAC.
"We knew they'd come back at us," Mertz said. "That's a good team, and it was the first point they've dropped all season. Playing at their place, getting a tie, on Sunday soccer, when it's hot … I'll take it. We've been working on how we can get better, and we're getting better. That's the message with our young team."
MSU Denver's weekend also included a 1-0 win at sixth-place Westminster on Friday in which
Kylie Bach matched her career-high with 10 saves.
Bach improved upon that Sunday with 11 more saves as the Mavericks were credited with 12 shots on goal to MSU Denver's seven.
"Kylie has been playing well," Mertz said. "They took a lot of shots from distance, but she had to make two big saves that were game-changers, one in the second half and one in the first 10 minutes."
