If a Fort Lewis College men’s soccer fan showed up for the second half of the Skyhawks’ game against Northwest Nazarene University, the fan wouldn’t have believed their eyes when looking at the scoreboard. That’s because the Skyhawks did something they haven’t done in nearly 20 years.
FLC made up for all its close calls in the last few games with six first-half goals against the Nighthawks on Saturday night. The only time the Skyhawks have achieved that in the first half of a game was in 2006; that year FLC went to the national championship.
The Skyhawks converted a 6-1 halftime lead into a resounding 8-1 home victory. The skill of Durango’s youthful offensive players shone against Northwest Nazarene. FLC found hole after hole in the Nighthawks’ defense and shredded it as if FLC had a food processor.
Unselfish play was on display for FLC in its outstanding display of offensive excellence. The Skyhawks played countless beautiful through balls and had quick combinations that made the Northwest Nazarene defense look as useless as pedals on a wheelchair. FLC finished with nine assists, which is tied for the third most in program history.
“What a night,” FLC head coach David Oberholtzer said. “It was an awesome performance from the guys against a very good team, a team that's receiving national recognition. We've been saying that we're really close and once things start to click, then we're going to start rolling … we were probably unlucky for it not to be more … To do that on 48 hours rest against a team that came here fresh, only playing the one game this weekend, it’s really impressive from the group.”
Ranked No. 9 in Division II, FLC moved to 3-0-2 overall after the win. FLC’s eight goals are the most in Oberholtzer’s head coaching tenure and the most since 2010.
Freshman forward Lorenz Guintini led the Skyhawks with three goals and an assist. Fellow freshman forward Alessio Andreottola had four assists. Freshman midfielder Francisco Pinto added two goals and an assist.
Northwest Nazarene dropped to 3-1-1 overall with the loss. What makes FLC’s win even more impressive is the Nighthawks aren’t bad. They received votes in the Division II top 25 and beat Rocky Mountain Athletic teams Colorado Christian, Westminster and Colorado Mesa earlier this season, as well as tying MSU Denver.
The Nighthawks were actually the first to find the back of the net. FLC had a poor turnover in its own half and the Nighthawks took advantage. Some quick passing led to Rylan McPherson finishing in between Skyhawks junior goalkeeper Lucas Martin’s legs for the 1-0 lead with about 25 minutes left in the first half.
FLC responded quickly and with authority. Andreottola worked down the right side a minute after the Northwest Nazarene goal and found Guintini, who finished from close range in the lower-left corner. Redshirt senior Quinn Bosanko played a great through ball to Andreottola, who found Guintini on a breakaway and Guintini finished into an open net for the 2-1 lead with 21 minutes left in the half.
Pinto joined the scoring party when he got the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, about 17 yards out, and fired a beauty of a shot into the top right corner with his left foot. FLC led 3-1 with about 15 minutes left in the first half.
Northwest Nazarene continued to be dangerous on counterattacks with their speedy forwards challenging the FLC defenders. The Skyhawks stood strong with some solid tackles and good positioning.
FLC made the Dirks Field lights flash on and off again with another goal. Andreottola played a corner to the far post for senior Casey Stracher, who headed it home for the 4-1 lead with 12 minutes left.
“It was a really well-rounded performance,” Oberholtzer said. “Every time we went forward, we looked like we were going to score. Our reactions defensively, we pressed really well and we made it really difficult for them.”
Andreottola nearly had the fifth goal a few minutes later. Bosanko made a great tackle at midfield and played a great through ball to the French freshman on the right side, who barely missed the lower left corner.
Skyhawks fans and players quickly forgot about Andreottola’s miss as the onslaught continued. Guintini completed his hat trick from half field with five minutes left in the half as he caught the Northwest Nazarene keeper off his line. Andreottola then found Aguilera on a beautiful through ball; Aguilera then dribbled around the keeper and tapped the ball into an empty net.
“My relationships with my teammates are very easy because we’ve played together for three months,” Guintini said. “We have three French guys in the front and Francisco who’s Portuguese, so it’s very easy.”
The halftime buzzer rang and the shell-shocked Nighthawks trailed the Skyhawks 6-1.
FLC kept its foot on the gas early in the second. Stracher threw the ball into Guintini, who found a streaking Pinto for his second goal and a 7-1 lead.
The Skyhawks’ counterattack continued to work beautifully. Andreottola combined with on a give-and-go and nearly scored. Only a few minutes later, Guintini combined with Pinto on the left side for what was nearly FLC’s eighth goal.
FLC scored its eighth goal off a set piece. Pinto played a free kick into the box from the right side. The Nighthawks keeper missed the ball at the far post and freshman defender Mathias Valverde put the ball into the back of the net with 17 minutes left.
Oberholtzer got a lot of his reserves into the game late in the second half, including fan favorite Uriel Garcia. The freshman defender from Farmington had his own cheering section whenever he touched the ball.
The Skyhawks hit the road to play at University of Colorado Colorado Springs on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
