Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska Kearney women's soccer team heads over the Rocky Mountains this weekend to face Western State and Colorado Mesa, a pair of former RMAC rivals, in Grand Junction, Colo.

Friday's game against the Mountaineers (0-1-1) begins at 2:30 p.m. Central with Sunday's tilt against the CMU Mavericks (0-2-0) set for 3:30 p.m. Central. Check the Loper schedule page for live stat and live video streaming links.

Grand Junction has an altitude of 4,593 feet. During its RMAC (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) days, UNK went 2-19-1 in road games played above 4,000 feet. That includes a 1-0 setback at Mesa in September 2011.

This is just the sixth year of women's soccer at Western State Colorado University (formerly known as Western State College). The 'Neers are coming off a 6-9-3 (4-6-2 RMAC) campaign and led by second-year head coach Amy Bell.

Western ventured to Nampa, Idaho, on opening weekend and fell to league rival Dixie (Utah) State, 3-0, and tied California's Academy of Art, 0-0. In 2016, WSCU was out scored on the year by just a 27-21 margin.

Six juniors and three seniors dot a roster that is currently led by forward Paige Massey (five shots; one goal) and midfielder Jessica Kresl (four shots; one assist). Last year, Kresl and junior midfielder Ingrid Alvarez earned All-RMAC honors.

A two-keeper system features sophomore Emile Eckhart (3.00 GAA, seven saves) and senior Katie Johnson-Simpson (0.82 GAA, three saves).

Mesa, which faces D2 newcomer Texas-Permian Basin (1-2-0) on Friday, went 9-7-2 (7-4-1 RMAC) last year. They lost at Cal State Stanislaus, 2-1, and tied Cal State East Bay, 0-0, last weekend.

The top three scorers and shot leaders all return in sophomore midfielder Alexis Allard, senior midfielder Amanda Wetzel and junior defender Mackenzie King. This trio combined for 113 shots and 26 points in 2016.

On defense, keepers Abby Steers (2.00 GAA & four saves) and Emily Signorio (2.00 GAA & five saves) have both have logged 90 minutes to date.

UNK peppered Minnesota State-Moorhead with 15 shots on Sunday but ended in a 0-0 tie with the Dragons. Since the start of 2015, the Lopers have now been involved in eight ties or 21% of its games.

With the high altitude, UNK will have to adjust its rotation and minutes this weekend. The Lopers should be ready as 20 players took to the pitch last weekend against Moorhead and Montana State-Billings.

Five different players have taken between three and five shots with five Lopers having two or three shots on goal. Defensively, the UNK defense allowed MSUM and MSUB to get just eight shots (seven on goal) off.

Next week, UNK hosts rival Fort Hays State Thursday night at 7 p.m. and then travels to Washburn on Sunday (1 p.m.). Both games are non-conference.