SEASIDE, Calif. – The MSU Denver men's soccer team wouldn't go down without a fight Friday night, and as a result picked up a well-earned tie.
 
Aaron Biggerstaff's goal with 13:08 left pulled the Roadrunners level in an eventual 1-1 draw at Cal State Monterey Bay, a highly-regarded California Collegiate Athletic Association team.
 
"It was great to show our fight and resolve," MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof said. "I don't think we played near our best in the first half – Monterey Bay came out sharper, possessed the ball more and created more chances. They deserved the goal they got.
 
"But in the second half we performed much better, had more possession and created a couple of quality chances, and it looked like we could have gotten another goal, too."
 
Still trailing 1-0, MSU Denver fended off a dangerous Otters opportunity in front, then quickly countered as Biggerstaff cleared the ball more than halfway down the field. That set up Aidan Bates and Adan Perez, who were 2-on-2 against Otter defenders. Bates passed to Perez, who took it into the box and fought his way around a defender, then centered it in front for Biggerstaff racing in. Biggerstaff took two whacks at the ball and his second shot struck paydirt.
 
"It was a good sequence," Kirchhof said. "The positive thing is there were lot of bodies in there. It was chaotic."
 
Biggerstaff has a team-high four goals on the season and 14 for his career.
 
Meanwhile, MSU Denver withstood an Otter attack that generated 17 shots, including nine on goal, as senior goalkeeper Ross Miller made eight saves.
 
"Ross was absolutely incredible," Kirchhof said. "Without him, we definitely wouldn't have been able to get a point on the road. He had three world-class saves and he dealt with everything else very well. He was definitely the most valuable player of the game today."
 
MSU Denver, 1-2-2, plays again Sunday at San Francisco State in a 3 p.m. MDT game. The Gators, 1-2-1, played Westminster to a 0-0 tie on Friday.
 
"Monterey Bay is a really good team that is going to do some damage in their conference," Kirchhof said. "We have to take the grit and fight that we showed in the second half into Sunday and make sure that we have it for the entire game, not just one half."