GOLDEN, COLO – The three-seeded women's soccer team lost 5-4 in penalty kicks to fall to seven-seeded Fort Lewis in the semifinals of the RMAC Tournament. 
 
"I am proud of our players, we knew Fort Lewis was going to come in and be a difficult team," Head coach Kat Mertz said. "I love the way we made adjustments and we battled to the end. Our players were gritty and relentless." 

After a scoreless first half, the Roadrunners jumped on the scoreboard quickly to start the second half. Only 48 seconds ticked off the second half clock before Jenelle Arenibas sent in a free kick that found the head of Monica Yoder who directed the ball above the Skyhawks keeper and into the net. 

"We've been working on set pieces and that kind of service in the box and I'm really happy for Jenelle." Coach Mertz said. "But most importantly for Monica, it was a beautiful header. You know executing and just being disciplined within our roles and responsibilities."
 
It was the third goal of the season for Yoder and the first assist on the year for Arenibas. 

"Our game changers came in and brought us energy," Coach Mertz said. "And that's what we've talked about all season, in the sense of how are they going to help change the game, how are they going to solve and fix things." 
 
While MSU Denver outshot Fort Lewis in the first half 8-4, the Skyhawks turned up the pace in the second outshooting the Roadrunners 9-3. At 72:30, FLC finally broke through on a corner kick. From the corner, Haley Stafford put the ball just outside the six, when the ball deflected off the foot of Maddy Rueter and ended up right in front of Sabrina Reyes who chipped the ball over Roadrunners goalkeeper Kylie Bach for the game-tying goal. 
 
Neither team found the back of the net during the rest of regulation and during the two 10-minute overtimes. Arenibas had the best chance for MSU Denver in the first overtime after she ripped in a shot from about 25 yards out that beat the keeper, but hit the crossbar. 

Coach Mertz had some words for that crossbar. "That post, you know, UCCS and us would like to have a moment with that post. Overtime is about grit and it's about heart. Everyone put their heart out there." 
 
It was on to penalty kicks and MSU Denver took the first one. Brooklyn Gold was the first shooter, she fired it in, and Fort Lewis goalkeeper Katlyn Rosenbaum made the save. From that point on every Skyhawk made their five penalty kicks, with MSU Denver also making the rest of theirs (Rueter, Yoder, Kayla Caballero, Taylor Matthews), thus the game ending in 1-1 draw with Fort Lewis winning 5-4 in PKs.

"We've been working on our PK's and I was confident in our order," Coach Mertz said. "It was fun to see Kayla step up and smash one home and to see Taylor Matthews as a freshman, she's been consistent all year, but you know, PK's aren't really enjoyable."
 
The Roadrunners will now wait for their NCAA fate to be decided this weekend. They currently sit in the sixth spot of the NCAA South Central Region rankings, with the top six teams earning a bid to NCAA postseason. The selection show will take place on Monday, November 18. 

"We're not done yet," said Coach Mertz. "We've got some soccer to play."