WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The new-look MSU Denver women's soccer team opened the season Thursday with a hard-fought 0-0 tie on the road against Midwestern State (Texas).
 
"I think you saw two teams trying to figure each other out," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said. "I thought we played well in the first half and created some good opportunities. We didn't capitalize on those, hit the post once, and I wish we could've tucked one away."
 
The Roadrunners just missed on perhaps the game's best scoring chance at 9:46, as Isa Durkin got control of a deflected Tessa Killmon shot, putting it past the goalkeeper but off the right post.
 
MSU Denver seemed to dominate possession for most of the first half before roles were somewhat reversed for the final 45 minutes.
 
"Midwestern State came out strong the second half and changed the game," Mertz said. "We needed to find a way to match their energy, and we eventually settled down and started to find the ball again. We did well facing a little adversity on the road."
 
Kylie Bach was credited with two saves for MSU Denver while posting the 10^th individual shutout of her career.
 
MSU Denver had three players making their first career starts and had five true freshman play a combined 172 minutes.
 
The Roadrunners complete their Texas road trip with a 10 a.m. MDT game Sunday at St. Edward's (Texas).
 
"We saw a lot of new faces on the field," Mertz said. "We'll go back to work tomorrow, with the goal to walk out of here with a win."