DENVER – Jenelle Arenibas scored the game-winning goal, while the defense recorded his 12^th shutout on the season to defeat Western Colorado 1-0 at home. 
 
"Every point matters," Head coach Kat Mertz said on earning three points on Friday night. "We want to host, we want to be in good seeding and we're also looking long term. We want to be playing in late November and in order to do that, we need to close out each game one at a time."
 
The win improves the Roadrunners record to 9-3-4 overall and 8-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Mountaineers loss drops them to 4-9-3 and 3-5-2 in the RMAC. 
 
MSU Denver outshot Western Colorado 11-3 in the first half and had seven more corners in the first 45 minutes. But the score remained 0-0 at the break. Coach felt confident that if the team kept playing their style of soccer, that goal was going to come. 
 
"I told them at halftime to keep playing with joy. We're good when we're having fun," Coach Mertz said. "I know it's stressful and I know we want to score a goal, but we can't get wrapped into that, it's going to come. If it comes in the last minute, it'll come in the last minute. I thought we came out of the locker room with a lot of attacking moments."
 
The Roadrunners finally broke through at 47:56 after Maddy Rueter sent a through ball into the box that was deflected off the boot of a Mountaineer defender, who sent it toward her own net, and Arenibas was there to knock it past the keeper for her first goal on the season. 
 
"I play the six, normally I'm kind of sitting in, but I saw Monica check down for a pass and I decided to take her space," Arenibas said on scoring her second career goal. "I saw Maddy running up with the ball, I was like, I might as well get in and next thing I know she played a beautiful ball, I took a touch and finished." 
 
"We talk a lot about flexing our system and getting numbers forward," said Mertz. "Maddy was dribbling out of the back quite a bit and they weren't picking her up. I was laughing when Jenelle, she was making some overlapping runs as a six, I told her to sit, so clearly she was right, but it was a great goal." 
 
While the Mountaineers gave everything they could, as they were fighting for three crucial points of their own toward an RMAC playoff spot, the Roadrunners defense once again worked 90 minutes for a clean sheet, their 12^th in 2024. 
 
"We were staying organized and had a lot of communication," senior defender Rueter said. "They had a lot of interchanging runs that were kind of hard to manage at times, but we were able to figure it out early in the game. And just staying calm under pressure in the last couple of minutes of the game when it gets intense and they are fighting for a goal." 
 
Kylie Bach earns her 11^th shutout on the season after making three saves in 90 minutes of action. She now has 27 career shutouts, which puts her third all-time in the Roadrunners record book. 
 
Up next for the Roadrunners will be a date with Fort Lewis College at home on Sunday. It will be the last regular season home game, which means the squad will be celebrating their seven seniors. 
 
"You know, I'm excited, but ultimately it's a job and I have get the job done," Rueter said on staying focused on senior day. "I think I'll celebrate, embrace my teammates, and my family is all here, I'm excited, but as soon as the whistle blows, it's game time and that's all that matters."