Three minutes, 16 seconds.
That’s all it took to turn a tense game, yet one Fort Lewis College appeared comfortable in, on its head.
UC-Colorado Springs scored twice in that quick span on set pieces to earn a 2-0 victory over the No. 12 FLC women’s soccer team Friday at Dirks Field.
A corner kick in the 53rd minute ping-ponged around in the penalty area before Taylor Braden got a foot to it to poke it home for her first goal this season and a 1-0 lead for the Mountain Lions (7-3-0, 4-3-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).
The Skyhawks (9-2-0, 5-2-0 RMAC) didn’t help matters by fouling UCCS just inside midfield in the 56th minute. The long salvo skipped off an FLC defender and right to Hannah Levett, who turned quickly and fired for her sixth goal of the season and the final 2-0 margin.
“They did an extremely good job on just capitalizing on balls that were rebounded,” FLC head coach Damian Clarke said. “Sometimes it’s a bit of good fortune. Sometimes it’s a bit of hard work. I think they had an element of both.”
FLC seemed to be out of sorts after conceding on the heels of a first half in which the Skyhawks looked more themselves, getting the better of the possessions and the chances. They started to play more of a long-ball game as they tried desperately to get the pair of goals to equalize – but to no avail.
“(Friday), we did kind of panic just because we were trying to find something, but usually just finding feet, playing simple the way we face is usually what we try to do,” FLC senior defender Ashley Kniffen said.
FLC had a 19-9 edge in total shots, and the Skyhawks were turned away by a few nice saves from UCCS goalkeeper Kelly Schroeder both before and after halftime. Schroeder finished with eight saves.
Perhaps FLC’s best first-half chance came on a charging save on Sam Weiss, who was streaking down the right wing with a couple of steps on the defense.
Weiss and Emma Cannis were strong in the first half, thanks to better connections in the passing game, but the long-ball game late didn’t allow FLC to connect as it typically does.
“We didn’t really swing the ball as much as we could’ve. ... We had a lot of chances; we just didn’t capitalize on any of them,” Kniffen said.
Friday marked only the second time this season FLC hadn’t tallied in a contest. The Skyhawks will look to climb back into the win column at New Mexico Highlands on Sunday in Las Vegas, N.M.
“This is a situation where these kids are just going to learn from it and get better,” Clarke said. “We’ll find a way not to react that way next time or respond that way next time we’re behind.”
rowens@durangoherald.com
