A last minute coaching change wasn’t enough for the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team to fall out of favor on the national landscape.
The FLC Skyhawks will enter the 2014 season ranked No. 24 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Continental Tire NCAA Division II women’s soccer poll.
“I think it is awesome to see that come in,” said FLC interim head coach Jimmy Hall, who was promoted in late July after the resignation of Damian Clarke, who had coached the team since 2007.
Two other Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams also are ranked in the preseason top 25.
Colorado Mines will enter the season as the top-ranked team in the RMAC, coming in at No. 9. Metro State also cracked the top 20 with a No. 16 ranking after a 14-4-4 season in 2013. Mines finished last year 19-1-1, and FLC completed the 2013 campaign at 16-6-6.
“They are fantastic programs, and their coaches do a fantastic job organizing their teams to achieve their objective each year,” Hall said of Colorado Mines and Metro State.
Defending national champion Grand Valley State, which has won three national titles in the last five years, is the top-ranked team in the country going into this season. Grand Valley defeated West Florida 2-0 in the national championship game last season. West Florida currently is ranked No. 2.
The top-ranked team in FLC’s South Central Region is No. 5 St. Edward’s, which finished last season with an 18-1-3 record.
“I think we can compete with those top-10 schools,” Hall said. “But we have to get out of our region, first. We are in a very difficult region.”
Midwestern State, the Wichita Falls, Texas, team Clarke now coaches, enters the season outside of the top-25 rankings.
FLC is without a senior on the current roster, and three juniors lead the team with the most experience. The rest of the squad is made up of freshmen and sophomores.
FLC will open its season at home Sept. 4-6 with two games in the Fort Lewis Women’s Soccer Classic at Dirks Field. The Skyhawks will begin play against Texas Woman’s on Sept. 4 before facing Clarke’s Midwestern State squad Sept. 6.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
