In a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament game between two of the best defenses in Division II women’s soccer, it took an uncharacteristic defensive error from Fort Lewis College to lose to Colorado Mesa on Wednesday night.
Not surprisingly, the game was tied with less than four minutes left. Chances were hard to come by as both defenses seemed prepared for anything the opposing offense threw at them.
That was until a poor pass from FLC senior defender Renee Junna gave the ball to Colorado Mesa inside FLC’s half with less than four minutes left. Mavericks’ Peyton Bundy took what seemed like a mile of space, passed it to Olivia Bariao-Arce on the right side of the 18-yard box, and Bariao-Arce finished from close range into the top left corner.
Colorado Mesa, which hadn’t conceded a goal to an RMAC opponent all season, hung on for the final three minutes for a 1-0 victory, sending the Mavericks to the RMAC tournament championship and likely ending the Skyhawks’ season.
“It's a really good team,” FLC head coach Damian Clarke said about the Mavericks. “We had enough of the ball to feel as if we weren't necessarily forced to defend the entire time. At the end of the day, I think the team is disappointed, but proud of themselves for the work.”
Ranked 20th in Division II heading into the game, Colorado Mesa improved to 14-2-2 overall and will face the winner of the UCCS vs. Colorado School of Mines in the tournament championship.
FLC gave up its first goal since Sept. 27 to snap its 10-game shutout streak. The Skyhawks dropped to 11-5-3 overall. It’s likely the end of the season for the Skyhawks. FLC was ranked eighth in the South Central region before the Colorado Mesa game, and only six teams from the South Central region go to the NCAA tournament. The NCAA will select the tournament on Monday.
“It's disappointing the criteria doesn't allow a team that's only lost the top 25 teams in ... our strength of schedule is higher than some of the teams inside the region that are getting in in front of us,” Clarke said.
Colorado Mesa had a 12-10 shots advantage over FLC and a 5-3 shots-on-goal advantage.
FLC didn’t get the ball over midfield in the first five minutes, and the Skyhawks were under consistent pressure for the first 20 minutes. FLC couldn’t maintain possession in the midfield like it had in the last few games, and Colorado Mesa was routinely trying to play long balls over the top of the veteran FLC back line.
On the rare occasion FLC did have an attack, it was on the left side. Junior defender Amber Otts provided a spark of offense with an overlapping run and a lot of play in the middle of the field.
The Skyhawks did a much better job advancing the ball through the midfield and creating chances in the last 20 minutes. It seemed like FLC was like a prizefighter who took the first few rounds to figure out their opponent, find the weak spots, attack and counter punch.
Colorado Mesa had a late chance with less than three minutes left, but the Mavericks player blasted it high from close range, and the game was scoreless going into halftime. FLC had the lone shot on goal.
“They were a little bit more dangerous than us in the first bit of it with some corner kicks,” Clarke said about Colorado Mesa. “Both teams struggled to really get a hold of the game in the first half ... But it'll be interesting to rewatch it and really see, were we under as much pressure as sometimes it felt, or was it just the emotional game?
The first 10 minutes of the second half had more chances than all 45 minutes of the first half. Both offenses appeared to be shot out of a cannon with how fast the teams were attacking and counterattacking.
Colorado Mesa’s best chance to that point was with 31 minutes left. Barrett found her way through two FLC players on the left side, crossed to a wide-open Bariao-Arce in the middle of the 18-yard box. Bariao-Arce hit a one-touch shot, but FLC freshman goalkeeper Trinity Lujan was there for the save.
Thirteen minutes later, the Mavericks had another fantastic chance to score. A long ball into the FLC 18-yard box found its way to Wells, who fired a shot off from close range that was saved by Lujan. Otts tried to clear it, but she hit the ball off Lujan and to another Colorado Mesa player, who unsuccessfully tried to poke it past Lujan.
The middle of the second half felt like the start of the first half, with Colorado Mesa constantly pressuring FLC and controlling possession. That pressure finally broke the FLC back line with Bariao-Arce’s goal.
This season, FLC finished with its most wins since 2015, and the Skyhawks took their second consecutive trip to the RMAC tournament semifinals.
Next season, FLC should return three of its top four scorers in Jenna Salazar, Kiana Jamerson and Abila Tapia. The Skyhawks should return All-RMAC midfielder Ann Spence and RMAC Freshman of the Year Trinity Lujan. Clarke and his staff will have their work cut out for them to replace four senior defenders, Junna, Rachel Peebles, Josie Coulter and Gonzales, who were crucial to FLC’s defensive dominance.
“We're in a good spot,” Clarke said. “The girls have done a really good job of putting us in a position to recruit really well ... we’ll add some absolute quality, and we feel like we're going to continue to keep getting better.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
