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Regis reigns in rain

Skyhawks miss early chances to grab lead

Fort Lewis College may have lost to the No. 14 team in the nation, but the Skyhawks felt they were the better team.

The FLC men’s soccer team fell 3-1 at home on Dirks Field to No. 14 Regis on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon in Durango. The game was scoreless at halftime despite several golden opportunities for FLC (5-3, 3-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) goals in the opening half.

“I thought our guys played really well. Sometimes breaks don’t go for you, and we couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net,” FLC head coach Oige Kennedy said. “I thought, in the first half, we created a lot of chances, and probably a little naivety defensively in the second half cost us.”

Regis (6-1, 3-1 RMAC) took advantage of its best scoring opportunities in the second half. Freshman midfielder Sawyer Lincoln came through with two goals to give Regis a 2-0 lead before he assisted sophomore defender Louis Barrow on the Rangers’ third goal. All three Regis goals came in a span of 11 minutes.

“He’s young and does some things I scratch my head at, but he’s a talent,” Regis head coach Tony McCall said of Lincoln. “The second half, we really took our chances, and I thought (Lincoln’s) finishing was clinical and composed.”

McCall called Dirks Field the toughest place in the country to get a win. Regis now is 5-20-1 all time at Dirks Field.

“Fort Lewis are a quality squad. You look and the shots favored them 25-12, and you’re always going to be on the back heel a little bit here,” McCall said. “Coach Kennedy has got such a great program, and it’s awfully difficult to come here.

“I would’ve taken a tie coming out here. To come out with a 3-1 win, I think we deserved it.”

FLC sophomore forward Luke Lawrence scored a goal in the 77th minute off an assist from Yannis Becker, but the Skyhawks couldn’t muster up any more goals late.

Play was physical all game, with fouls totaling 30, 21 of which went against the Rangers. Four yellow cards were issued, three against Regis.

“It was physical, but there is a lot of positives to take from this. If anyone is watching, they knew we were the better team out there,” Lawrence said. “If we just finish some chances, we go out on top first and the game is won.”

Regis used two goalkeepers – one in each half – just as it has done all season. Christian Nicolosi made four saves in the first half, and Connor Adkisson made four more saves in the second half.

“We have two very good keepers. I thought Nicolosi made a couple of world-class saves in the first half, and I thought we were lucky to come in at 0-0 at half,” McCall said.

FLC took 15 corner kicks in the game but never had one result in a solid scoring chance, a bit of a rarity for the typically accurate Becker, who delivers the majority of FLC corners into the box.

“It was just a difficult day for guys to keep their feet, I felt. Sometimes that was a bit against us on set pieces, but both teams had the same conditions,” Kennedy said. “We did have a lot of set pieces, and usually our execution is quite good, so maybe it’s one of the disappointing factors, but, again, if you look at chances, we created more than enough to win the game.”

FLC will regroup with a week of practice before they will host Adams State (1-6, 0-4 RMAC) at 3 p.m. Friday. FLC will get a rematch against Regis on Oct. 19 in Denver.

“I’m very excited,” Lawrence said of the next game. “I mean, my head is not going to go down. The team’s head is not going to go down. We’re going to come out strong again, and we’ll meet (Regis) again.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com

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