PUEBLO, Colo. — MSU Denver men's soccer earned one of the program's biggest wins in recent years Thursday night, stunning No. 11 CSU Pueblo 3–2 on the road behind a last-second goal from Adan Perez at Art & Lorraine Gonzales Stadium.
The victory marked the Roadrunners' fourth straight win and extended their unbeaten streak to nine matches, the program's longest since a seven-game run without a loss in 2022. MSU Denver, now 7-2-5 overall and 5-0-1 in RMAC play, moved into a tie atop the conference standings with UCCS (16 points each) after the Mountain Lions tied Colorado Christian earlier in the evening. CSU Pueblo dropped to 6-2-7 overall and 2-2-3 in league play.
"Really proud of the guys' effort and competitive fight tonight in a hostile environment," stated head coach Nick Kirchhof. "The guys never lost belief and kept pushing to find the next goal."
The senior midfielder Perez opened the scoring in the sixth minute, then capped the night with the game-winner to seal a signature conference victory. Perez delivered the decisive strike with just nine seconds remaining, finishing a setup from Brendan O'Toole to complete his first career multi-goal performance and tie his career-high with his fourth and fifth goals of the season.
"Incredible individual effort from Brendan to sprint at the end and then have the skill to commit two defenders and slip it to Adan," Kirchhof added.
"Adan shows great composure and was able to finish. These are the nights that you dream of as a player. Glad we were able to find a winner at the end."
It gave MSU Denver its first multi-goal game by a single player since Zack Williams netted two on Oct. 24, 2024, against Adams State.
O'Toole also found the back of the net for the Roadrunners in the 57th minute off an assist from Rhyson Johnston, giving him a score in a back-to-back matches.
The win was monumental in several ways: it marked MSU Denver's first triumph over a ranked opponent since Oct. 21, 2022, when the Roadrunners beat No. 20 UCCS—and it was also their first win over CSU Pueblo since 2018 and first in Pueblo since 2015, snapping a five-match losing streak in the series. With the result, MSU Denver now holds a narrow 13-12-2 edge in the all-time series.
The Roadrunners' strong defensive form continues to shine, as they entered the night tied with CSU Pueblo for the fewest goals allowed in the RMAC and now hold the lead outright. They also lead the league in goals scored during RMAC play, showcasing their balance on both ends of the field.
MSU Denver will travel to Colorado Springs on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. to take on UCCS in a showdown for sole possession of first place in the RMAC standings.
