Hungry to score more goals, Fort Lewis shook up its lineup a bit up top at the forward position, but it was a quick-strike goal from a defender that set the tone Wednesday.
Freshman right back Ty Lang played a brilliant game of give-and-go up the sideline with Dana Kowachek and made a long run down the sideline before cutting into the box. He cut across the face of the goal, lost his defender and finished brilliantly for a goal less than 4 minutes into the men’s soccer match against Adams State on Fort Lewis’ home Dirks Field.
The Skyhawks (6-5, 5-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) never slowed down in a 7-0 rout of the Grizzlies (4-7, 1-6 RMAC), displaying their dominance until the final whistle.
“We wanted to be on top of them early and get out front and keep the tempo and keep them under pressure,” FLC head coach David Oberholtzer said. “Getting a goal early helps you do that, and we had a great attitude from the whole group all day.”
All seven FLC goals were scored by different players, and six different Skyhawks earned assists.
FLC struck again in the 15th minute when Nicolas Perez ripped a shot from more than 20 yards out past Adams State goalkeeper Austin Baumeister, who made four saves and allowed five goals before being replaced by Marcel Ruzan, who also made four saves and allowed two goals in 16:36 of work. Perez scored less than a minute after picking up a yellow card.
The Skyhawks made it 3-0 when Sean Cleary finished off a header in the box after collecting a ball bouncing around in front of goal on a corner kick. Coleman Kane, Cleary’s partner at center back on defense, and forward Salifu Jatta earned assists. Cleary’s goal gave FLC’s defenders two goals early in the game, as they showed no hesitancy to push the play forward and get involved in the final third of the field.
“It’s a total team effort,” said Cleary, a sophomore who was named a preseason All-RMAC player. “We’ve been working hard from the forwards all the way back to defense. This was a complete game in that sense.”
Only 35 seconds later, FLC senior Tamino Kroeger found the ball directly in front of goal and calmly placed a shot past Baumeister to send FLC to a 4-0 halftime lead.
FLC struck again only 90 seconds into the second half. Perez played a ball ahead that appeared to have no chance of finding a teammate. Between two Adams State defenders and in front of a charging Baumeister, Jatta slipped into the mix and stuck a long leg out, using every inch of his 6-foot-3 frame to get a toe on the ball and tap it in for his third goal of the season.
Oberholtzer emptied his bench with about 16 minutes to play, and the team didn’t miss a beat. Marco Hernandez-Hipolito got his head on a perfect crossing pass from Martin Lopez to score his first goal of the season in the 85th minute, and Churchill Onumonu scored again 52 seconds later with an assist from Laurin Weiland for his team-leading sixth goal of the year.
“Any time freshmen or any of our new guys who don’t get a lot of minutes come in, it’s huge for them to step up,” said Cleary, who joined goalkeeper Elliot Chadderton as the only FLC players to play all 90 minutes. “Everyone is working, not just the starting 11. Whether they get 5 minutes or play the entire game, all of our guys are ready to play.”
The Skyhawks held the Grizzlies to only three shots and two on goal. Neither shot on target caused Chadderton any problems.
FLC is in a difficult stretch playing four games in eight days. After a 1-0 loss to Colorado Mesa to start the stretch, FLC has picked up shutout wins against Westminster and Adams State with another home match Friday against CSU-Pueblo for homecoming.
“It’s a lot of games, but coach is doing a good job of keeping us rested and where we need to be,” Cleary said. “We’re staying sharp and not sloppy and not too fatigued, so credit the coaches on that.”
With seven RMAC games to play before the conference tournament, the Skyhawks sit third in the standings behind No. 5 Regis and Colorado Mesa, the only RMAC teams to beat FLC so far this year.
Colorado Mesa would be ranked No. 26 if the poll extended past the top 25, and FLC lost both of those contests by only one goal each.
“We’re finding consistency and getting momentum behind us,” said Oberholtzer, an FLC alum in his first year replacing Oige Kennedy as head coach.
“Everybody is feeling like we’re starting to play better and it’s starting to click.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
Skyhawks scribbles
The Fort Lewis College men’s and women’s soccer teams will host a meet-and-greet event for youth soccer players and their parents at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the SunUte Community Center in Ignacio. The Skyhawks hope to interact with roughly 100 members of the soccer community during the event. As part of homecoming week, the FLC soccer programs are eager to reach out to the soccer community across La Plata County.
