DENVER – MSU Denver scored in the first two minutes of each half and went on to post a 2-1 victory Thursday over Westminster in a men's collegiate soccer match.
 
"The boys really took to heart what we've been talking about," MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof said. "We've been waiting and seeing in games instead of making things happen. What was great is that they executed things that we've been working on in training.
 
"I was really happy to start each half that way. We got bodies in the box. Both goals were great goals, because we had lots of bodies in there and we had lot of options."
 
Cooper Landry assisted on the first Roadrunners goal and then scored the game-winner on the second.
 
"It always feels good to get a goal," Landry said. "We always want to try to start on the front foot and try to score early."
 
The Roadrunners scored at 1:32, as Dallas Baer passed in the box to Landry, who then thumped a low pass from left to right across the box. Defender Jackson Vander Ven put it away for his first goal of the season.
 
"I saw Dallas open and I had a little space in behind and he played me through," Landry said. "And then I knew if I hit it low and hard across the goal that someone would be there."
 
Westminster answered with a goal of its own just 2:56 later, but that only set the stage for another quick start in the second half.
 
At 47:00, Landry headed home a cross from Rob Sumner for his first goal of the season.
 
"I trust Rob to beat his man around the edge – we've been working a lot on that in practice," Landry said. "And I was there."
 
Landry, who has played multiple positions for the Roadrunners, now has three career goals.
 
"Cooper is a fantastic player," Kirchhof said. "Wherever we put him, he does a great job. Getting on the end of that cross was fantastic – that's something we ask our wingbacks to do, to get involved more on the attack. And then the ball he played on the left, he was able to find a great pass from Dallas and smack a hard little cross – and I'm glad Jackson was still in there."
 
The goals helped MSU Denver snap a four-game streak without a score.
 
"We kept coming close and kept putting things off target," Kirchhof said. "Today we put a couple more chances on target. I know this group is going to create great scoring chances every time we step out there, it's just that we need to have everyone ready. We don't have one guy who is going to step out there and bang them all in for us. It's got to be a committee."
 
Indeed, MSU Denver's seven goals this season have come from seven different players.
 
"It's always rough when you're not scoring any goals, but you keep working hard in practice, work on finishing them, and you get better," Landry said.
 
The Roadrunners improved to 2-4-1 while defeating a conference foe in a non-conference matchup. It will be a similar scenario Sunday as MSU Denver plays Colorado School of Mines (1-6) in a 1:30 p.m. game at the Assembly Athletic Complex.
 
"All of our games are important ones for us," Kirchhof said. "This one wasn't for points, unfortunately, but it was good to get the monkey off our back after playing some really tough competition and not always getting rewarded. We did some things well, but there's a lot of things we need to keep improving on. The great part is that we were able to fight for a result and then maintain that result. I'm really proud of the guys for that."