DENVER – How long did it take MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof to get in touch with Brendan O'Toole after he entered the transfer portal in the offseason?
 
Only slightly longer than it took O'Toole to score the first goal Sunday in a 2-0 win over West Texas A&M. O'Toole scored his first Roadrunners goal at 3:54, setting the tone in what could eventually turn out to be a key in-region victory.
 
"He was a great player at Regis and I had tremendous respect for him," Kirchhof said. "As soon as he hopped in the portal, I knew I'd love to have him here."
 
Said O'Toole: "Nick hit me up pretty much 20 minutes after I was in the portal. He remembered me playing against them, and he gave me a chance to play a position I'm more comfortable in and to have a bigger role. I'm thankful to him for bringing me over."
 
O'Toole took a cross into the box from Cooper Landry, then patiently waited to finish.
 
"He's been great," Kirchhof said. "He's an older, more mature player, and he's so quick, hard-working and smart. He got on the end of a great cross from Cooper, and I think because he's older he was composed and absolutely buried it."
 
Said O'Toole: "I held my run and waited for him to play the cutback. We've done that a couple of times in the preseason and we have a pretty good connection. He pretty much knows where I'm going to be, and it's my job to get on the end of it.
 
"I was happy it fell to me and that I didn't put it over the bar."
 
Noah Hannula scored a penalty-kick goal at 75:10 to put the game on ice. Backup forward Matthew Vogel drew the foul that led to the PK.
 
"Matty came in and made a huge impact," Kirchhof said. "That's what we want our substitutes to do, to come in and raise the level. And he absolutely changed the game with his movement, creating multiple chances, and drawing the penalty."
 
Playing for the second time in three days at altitude, MSU Denver seemed to have more energy in the second half than West Texas A&M, which tied Regis 2-2 on Friday. A lot of that came from the Roadrunners' substitutes, with 10 players combining for 230 minutes.
 
"That's our strength," Kirchhof said. "We never talk about any one guy winning or losing us the game, it's always the group. Over the next couple of weekends, and then when we get into conference, we're going to need everybody. As long as everyone keeps pushing and competing and perfecting their craft, I think we've got a really good group that can hurt people in a variety of ways."
 
The Roadrunners improved to 1-1 – they were competitive in a 5-3 season-opening loss to eighth-ranked Lone Star Conference favorite Midwestern State (Texas) before beating the Buffs, picked second in the Lone Star.
 
"We have the ability, and we just have to keep growing and adapting," Kirchhof said. "I think we're going to be tough to score on, and we can score in a variety of ways. As long as everyone keeps pushing and keeps believing, I think we can go far this year."
 
MSU Denver plays its next four games in California, starting with Thursday's 5 p.m. MDT game at Dominican (Calif.).