A resilient group of Fort Lewis College women’s lacrosse players buckled down in the biggest game of the year.
FLC (7-6) trailed Westminster College 10-9 in the final 8 minutes, 30 seconds of Thursday’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament opening-round game in Denver. The Skyhawks scored two goals to take an 11-10 lead, but Westminster (6-7) forced overtime with a late goal of its own.
In the sudden death overtime, nobody scored in the first period to set up a second. With 2:28 to go in the second overtime, FLC’s Kelli Warmouth, a junior midfielder, put a shot over the Westminster goalkeeper’s head to send the Skyhawks to a 12-11 victory.
“It took a lot of mental toughness,” FLC first-year head coach Sean Claussen said. “Our girls have played without subs pretty much all season, and we’re dealing with a lot of nagging injuries. The entire midfield has been battling through those injuries all season. We let our exhaustion get the best of us at times and had sloppy play, but I am proud of the girls for overcoming that, getting their heads right and executing the game plan and getting the win.”
Now, the Skyhawks will face RMAC tournament top-seed Lindenwood, the undefeated second-ranked team in the country. The match against the Lions (17-0) is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday in Denver. FLC lost to Lindenwood 16-5 earlier this year on March 7 in Missouri.
“We’re excited to play them,” Claussen said. “Our girls show up for those big games. The game earlier this year was very close. The scoreline doesn’t show it as close as it was, but their coaches didn’t change their game plan and kept their All-Americans in until the very end. Our girls made it rough for them.
“The big thing will be putting the ball in goal. We hit the post six or seven times the last time we played them, and that could’ve been the difference. I know we’re as talented as they are.”
In the other first round game, third-seed Colorado Mesa beat sixth-seed Rockhurst 14-11 to reach the semifinals Friday against second-seed Regis.
In Thursday’s tournament game, FLC’s second consecutive match against the Griffins after picking up a 10-9 win in the season finale in Salt Lake City, Warmouth’s third goal of the game was the winner. The goal came after FLC sophomore keeper Daris Wienk made a beautiful save to keep the Skyhawks alive.
“We were able to transition the ball down,” Claussen said. “Kelli worked very hard to get open into the midfield. She made a great dodge and put the ball right over their goalie’s head. I think that’s the best goalie (Mikala Anderson) in the conference, and she made it very hard for us. When we shot where we talked about shooting in the game plan, it worked.”
Regan Olson also had three goals for FLC. Taylor Cabrera and Anna Dennison each had two goals and two assists. Wienk made six saves for FLC, while Anderson made 14 for Westminster.
Warmouth now has 35 goals this season, while Olson has 26. Cabrera is up to 28 goals.
Wednesday, FLC’s Ann Nelson joined Cabrera, Muckway and Warmouth on the RMAC honorable mention list.
“This is a very close group,” Claussen said of his team. “They are there for each other on and off the field. It’s going to be sad to see some of them go because we are going to lose half of the team at the end of this year, but we’re thinking about trying to make the most out of this game tomorrow together.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
