In 2009, a Division II national championship.
In 2010, an 11-5-4 record and no NCAA Tournament berth.
In 2011, a Division II national championship.
In 2012, a 9-8-2 record and no NCAA Tournament berth.
In 2013? To be determined.
By any measure, the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer program has proven it doesn’t historically do back-to-back underwhelming seasons and has established a pattern heading into head coach Oige Kennedy’s fifth season in charge. But past history and patterns guarantee nothing as the Skyhawks try to make it back to the NCAA Tournament in a crowded Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and South Central Region.
The most pressing issue last season may have been cohesion. There were times last season where the Skyhawks didn’t seem to be a unified entity on the pitch, a group of 11 players on the same page. That’s something that they’ve worked hard to fix in the offseason, new captain and junior defender Johannes Sander said.
“I think the first thing is that we are a team again, team cohesion, that we work as a team again. ... We didn’t have good team chemistry, and that’s our biggest goal this year, to be – how do you say it? – to be a family again,” the 6-2 German center back said.
A big key will be rediscovering the dynamic finishing touch up top that’s been key in the Skyhawks’ most recent successful seasons. FLC averaged 2.44 goals per game in 2011 before falling to a 1.58 scoring clip last year, and FLC tallied just 30 times against 29 goals against last season.
Fortunately for FLC, leading scorer Yannis Becker returns after a 21-point (seven goals, seven assists) season that was far-and-away tops on the team. Casey Dean, second on the team with four goals, and Jordan Alexander have shown good scoring touches in stretches in their careers, and a multitude of others will be expected to step in and contribute.
“I think too many times in games last year we allowed chances to go missing,” Kennedy said. “I think we’ve got to be more clinical.”
The Skyhawks need a bounceback defensive year, too. They allowed 29 goals a season ago after just 11 found the Skyhawks’ net in 2011.
FLC had to adjust to life without longtime defenders Berekk Blackwell and Fabian Kling and will need to replace Stephan Engeln this year after the German did not return to the squad and first-team All-RMAC selection Kyle Woodson, who graduated. But with Sander and Artur Piperkov back for another season and another offseason to mesh with goalkeeper Ryan Schaul, the target is a much lower number.
“Last year, that was a big problem that we conceded too many goals from corner kicks and free kicks. ... We set as a goal, like, conceding less than 15 goals this season,” Sander said.
There’s shakeup in the coaching staff, too. John Cunliffe, far and away the leading scorer in school history and near the top of the Division II record books, and former teammate Kieran Hall join the staff, as does fellow 2005 national champion Cole Sweetser, the second-leading scorer in the history of the program.
Turning Dirks Field back into a “fortress,” as Kennedy called it, will be imperative. The Skyhawks went just 2-3-2 at home last year, including losses to Colorado Mesa and UC-Colorado Springs.
FLC will get to test its chops early on. The Skyhawks will open on the road Sept. 6 at regional foe Midwestern State, a potentially key matchup in a region that sends only three teams to the big dance. The Skyhawks hope it’s the start of something good.
“They’ve been working extremely hard on their own, and this week has been a really good start to where we need to be at,” Kennedy said.
rowens@durangoherald.com
