Twice the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team went down two.
Twice they rallied within one.
At the end, however, the Skyhawks ran out of time.
Fifth-seeded FLC pushed hard for an equalizer, but top-seeded Regis kept dangling the carrot just out of reach for a 3-2 win Friday in Denver in the semifinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament.
Arnthor Kristinsson put FLC (11-8-1) behind the eight ball early, scoring on a header off a pass from Ben Fredrickson just 57 seconds into the game.
Martin Maybin put Regis (13-2-1) ahead 2-0 in the 26th minute.
“Scoring goals is one thing, but if you can’t keep them out of the back of the net, you’re going to have a tough time,” FLC head coach Oige Kennedy said.
FLC, which entered Friday with the RMAC lead in total goals, trimmed the lead in half on Casey Dean’s goal on a feed from Alberto Capdepon in the 54th minute, and the Skyhawks pushed to get even, outshooting the Rangers 9-6 in the half after being outshot 9-5 in the opening frame.
The goal was Dean’s first of the season.
“I think we definitely played better in the second half, but again, scoring goals has not been a problem,” Kennedy said.
But Maybin tallied for the second time with just 28 seconds remaining for a 3-1 Regis lead, and Maik Brandt’s goal with 10 seconds to play wasn’t enough to keep FLC’s season from coming to a close.
Ryan Pakieser made four saves in net for the Skyhawks, while Connor Adkisson stopped seven for the Rangers.
The 2012 and 2013 seasons marked the first time FLC has missed the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons since 2002 and 2003.
“The coaching staff is going to work hard in the offseason to get us ready to challenge for something next year,” Kennedy said Friday afternoon.
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