DENVER – The first-place MSU Denver women's soccer team is home for two big Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games this weekend, headlining the Roadrunners' athletics schedule.
 
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Westminster at MSU Denver, Friday, 6 p.m.
Colorado Mesa at MSU Denver, Sunday, 1:30 p.m.  
 
MSU Denver is 4-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play for the first time since 2018 and is in sole possession of first place in the league with 12 points.
 
The Roadrunners, 5-1-4 overall and receiving votes in the Division II top 25 coaches' poll, play two tough opponents this weekend, with Westminster (4-1-2, 2-0-1) coming to the Assembly Athletic Complex for a 6 p.m. game Friday and Colorado Mesa (5-1-2, 3-0) invading Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
 
A huge crowd is expected for the Friday game, which is both MSU Denver's Kick Cancer Game and Denver Broncos junior cheerleaders night. Fans are encouraged to bid on the pink jerseys worn by Roadrunners players as well as donate to finding the cure for cancer.
 
MSU Denver goalkeeper Kylie Bach posted her Division II-leading eighth shutout Friday at CSU Pueblo, then surrendered just one goal while making seven saves in a 2-1 victory at UCCS that was the Roadrunners' first win in the series with the Mountain Lions since 2016. Bach had three saves against CSU Pueblo while earning her 24th career shutout, moving within one shutout of a tie for third place in program history. Bach has allowed just four goals all season for a goals-against average of 0.40 to rank second in the RMAC and 17^th in the country, and she leads the RMAC with a .907 save percentage that ranks 14^th nationally.
 
While the RMAC has given its Goalkeeper of the Week award to a goalkeeper with zero saves two weeks ago and a backup goalkeeper who played only half the team's minutes against second-division opponents this past week, Bach has arguably been the league's best keeper to this point in the season.
 
Tessa Killmon scored the second goal in each game last weekend to improve her career total to seven, and sixth-year defender Maddy Rueter scored her first career goal in the win at CSU Pueblo.
 
With eight shutouts in 10 games, MSU Denver ranks third nationally in shutout percentage, and its goals-against average of 0.40 ranks 14^th.
 
Westminster, the preseason choice by coaches to finish seventh in the RMAC, played Regis to a 0-0 draw on the road last week in its only meeting with a team that MSU Denver has played this season – the Roadrunners beat the Rangers 2-0 at home. MSU Denver trails the all-time series 3-6-2 and has never beaten the Griffins at home (0-3-2), but has won two straight in the series.
 
Mesa, picked to finish third in the league, has played one common opponent with the Roadrunners – both teams shut out Black Hills State (MSU Denver won 3-0 at home, Mesa 2-0 on the road). MSU Denver leads the all-time series 29-18-2, including 14-5-1 at home. The Mavericks are 3-1-1 in the last five meetings, but the only one of those five matchups played in Denver was a 1-0 Roadrunners win on Oct. 16, 2022.
 
 
MEN'S SOCCER
MSU Denver at Westminster, Thursday, 3 p.m.
Colorado Mesa at MSU Denver, Sunday, 11 a.m.  

Having played five teams that are or have been ranked in the national top 10 this season, the MSU Denver men's soccer team has seen its share of high-quality opponents.
 
The Roadrunners have gone 0-4-1 in those matchups, including a 0-0 draw Sunday against No. 4 UCCS.
 
Theoretically, things should get easier, but a look at the schedule indicates the level of competition doesn't drop off much as the Roadrunners (3-5-2 overall, 0-1-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) travel to Westminster (4-4-2, 0-2) for a 3 p.m. Thursday game before returning home Sunday to play Colorado Mesa at 11 a.m.
 
Jackson Vander Ven and Cooper Landry scored the goals and Nick McNeil had three saves as MSU Denver beat Westminster 2-1 in a non-conference matchup Sept. 26, snapping the Griffins' two-game winning streak in the series. The Roadrunners lead the all-time series 19-7-1, and are 8-4 in Salt Lake City.
 
Colorado Mesa (3-4-2, 0-1-1), is coming off a tough weekend in which it lost 4-2 at Regis and tied 1-1 at surprising South Dakota Mines. Mesa, picked to finish third in the RMAC's preseason coaches' poll, has dominated the series with MSU Denver with nine straight wins dating to the start of the 2017 season, a 13-game unbeaten streak (10-0-3) dating to October, 2015, and a 14-2-4 record that dates to October, 2011. Overall, Colorado Mesa leads 14-11-5.
    
VOLLEYBALL
No. 2 MSU Denver at New Mexico Highlands, Saturday, 6 p.m. 

The MSU Denver volleyball team has been in a holding pattern at No. 2 in the Division II top 25 coaches' poll, and has its second-straight one-match weekend as it plays Saturday at 6 p.m. at New Mexico Highlands.
 
The Roadrunners have been No. 2 in the last four AVCA polls behind Tampa (Fla.), which has played just four matches in the past three weeks and has had three matches postponed due to Hurricane Milton.
 
MSU Denver (13-1 overall and 4-0 and tied for first in the RMAC) ranks second nationally in blocks per set (2.9) and hitting percentage (.316), and is also 11^th in assists per set (13.4). The Roadrunners are balanced across their rotations with multiple players ranking among the RMAC's top five in multiple categories.
 
New Mexico Highlands is 3-11 overall and 1-3 in the RMAC.
 
The Roadrunners are 39-2 all-time against New Mexico Highlands, including 12-1 on the road. MSU Denver has won 28 straight in the series dating to 1999 and haven't dropped a set against the Cowgirls in seven meetings, dating to 2017.