Before the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer could finish an exhausting road trip, the Skyhawks exhausted the MSU Denver defense with its offensive firepower on Sunday.
FLC scored three first-half goals and freshman midfielder Fabrizio Aguilera scored the Skyhawks’ fourth and final goal in the 83rd minute to seal a 4-3 win over the Roadrunners.
After the win, FLC moved to 8-2-5 overall and 4-2-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. MSU Denver fell to 6-7-3 overall and 3-3-2 in RMAC play after the loss.
“We were just pretty worn out from our lengthy road trips,” FLC men’s soccer head coach David Oberholtzer said. “It showed in our play in both games over the weekend. Sunday, in particular, for us to find a way to win even when we feel like we're not necessarily playing at our best, that's really important. Obviously, to score four goals and still be dangerous from an attacking standpoint is great, especially considering we're still missing Anton (Hjalmarsson), who's our biggest goal threat. So there’s a lot of positives to take away from it.”
Scoring started early when MSU Denver’s Nicco Schiappa put the Roadrunners up 1-0 in the fourth minute. Skyhawks fifth-year forward Gabriel Legendre tied the game up in the 16th minute off a pass from junior David Citron.
MSU Denver responded with a 2-1 lead thanks to Charlie Matsumoto’s goal in the 17th minute. Citron responded with a goal in the 20th minute off an assist from senior forward Tomas Duenes. Freshman midfielder Fabrizio Aguilera made it 3-2 FLC off a pass from Duenes. MSU Denver’s Dallas Baer made it 3-3 in the 59th minute before Augilera’s final goal to win it.
“Any time he's able to find any sort of room within shooting distance for him, which is 25-30 yards in from goal, and he's facing forward with half a yard, he strikes the ball better than most,” Oberholtzer said about Aguilera. “So when he's in those positions, he's always going to be dangerous.”
Oberholtzer said the Skyhawks made things too easy for the Roadrunners by giving them a lot of space and time.
FLC returns home to face Westminster on Friday to begin a three-game homestand to finish the regular season.
Women’s soccer ties Regis 1-1 thanks to David free-kick.
Recently, fifth-year defender Elizabeth David’s powerful leg has been one of FLC women’s soccer’s best weapons. She scored another free-kick goal from close to midfield as the Skyhawks tied Regis 1-1 on Sunday at home.
FLC moved to 7-4-3 overall and 4-3-2 in the RMAC after the tie. Regis moved to 5-9-3 overall and 4-5-2 in the RMAC.
“We were good in the first half and we were good enough for a long stretch of the second half as well,” FLC women’s soccer head coach Damian Clarke said. “We’re all pretty disappointed in the lack of concentration to give up the goal that we did to allow the draw. So, I’m disappointed in the fact that we didn't either score two goals or find a way to concentrate long enough to take care of the result.”
FLC outshot Regis 17-7 and 7-4 with shots on goal. Clarke said the Skyhawks created enough chances to win with some good crosses and missed headers. He said there is still a step to take with the group’s maturity to close out a game like that.
Skyhawks’ fifth-year goalkeeper Riley Bravin had a save and fifth-year goalkeeper Katlyn Rosenbaum had two saves for FLC.
On FLC’s goal, Clarke said fifth-year midfielder McKenna Ford did a great job of timing up her run so that Ford screened the Regis goalkeeper as David hit her free-kick. Clarke said the Skyhawks practice those moments a lot.
Next up for FLC is a road game at Colorado Christian on Friday at 1 p.m.
Women’s cross country finishes fifth at RMAC Championships, men finish sixth
The 2024 RMAC Cross Country Championship took place on Saturday at Gene Torres Golf Course in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The Skyhawks women led the way with a sixth-place finish.
“I just can't commend the women enough on just their resilience and their grit all season to take things, to take things as they come … fifth place in the RMAC is fantastic, so I'm very happy with that,” FLC cross country/track & field associate head coach Gracen Key said.
FLC junior Hannah Hartwell led the way by finishing fifth in 19 minutes and 47.9 seconds in the women’s 6-kilometer race. Key said Hartwell dealt with some health issues earlier in the season but is finally healthy. Hartwell is a one-of-a-kind talent and could be a top-five runner in the country if she continues to believe in herself, according to Key.
Behind Hartwell was sophomore Linda Weigang, who finished in 10th in 20:31.4. Junior Althea Griffith finished 27th in 21:24.3, sophomore Tessa Stadler finished 30th and junior Marisol Castilleja finished 64th to round out the scoring positions for FLC.
“I told her the specific individuals that I wanted her to beat and she nipped them at the line,” Key said about Weigang. “She gaining some confidence from this race was huge … a confident Linda is a very dangerous Linda. Her performance is exactly what she needed going into the regional meet.”
Hartwell and Weigang earned First Team All-RMAC honors for their performances. Griffith earned Second Team All-RMAC.
The women are heading to the South Central Regional Championships in Denver on Nov. 9. Key is confident if the women execute like they’re capable of they will qualify for nationals. FLC is ranked 15th in Division II this week, the highest ranking in program history.
FLC’s men’s cross country team finished sixth at the RMAC Championships. Junior Elijah Smith finished the men’s 8K race in 17th in 24:44.4 as the top Skyhawk male runner.
Senior Caden Resendez finished 20th in 24:50.3. Junior Cebastian Marquez finished 32nd in 25:16.1, freshman Cesar Diaz finished 54th in 26:03 and junior Skyler McIntyre finished 58th in 26:08.4 to round out the scoring positions for FLC.
Smith and Resendez earned Second Team All-RMAC honors.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
