It was only a matter of time before new Fort Lewis College men’s soccer transfer Brantley Bice scored his first goal for the Skyhawks. In his seventh appearance for Fort Lewis, he was able to find the back of the net.
The junior transfer from the University of Memphis scored his first goal of his FLC career, as well as the game-winning goal in Friday’s 1-0 win over Colorado Christian (0-6-0, 0-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) in the 14th minute off of a cross from senior right back Ty Lang.
“Brantley was great for us today,” said FLC head coach David Oberholtzer. “He’s been so close, so it’s nice to finally get him a breakthrough. Hopefully it helps him build a bit more confidence in front of goal moving forward.”
Fort Lewis (4-0-3, 2-0-1 RMAC) controlled much of the flow of the game, as Oberholtzer estimated the Skyhawks played 75 minutes of the 90 in the Cougars’ third of the field. The Sykhaws hit the post on three separate occasions, and also had three goals ruled out due to a player in an offside position.
“I thought our play was the best its been in terms of winning the territorial battle, and where we want the game to be played,” Oberholtzer said. “It was a pretty dominant performance, other than the scoreline. We aren’t putting the number of goals away like we’d want to, but still, it was a good performance.”
On the breakthrough, Lang drove down the right flank, cut it back and made a thorough cross, and Bice was able to beat his defender, and headed the ball into the top left corner of the net. Later in the first half, Hakeem Rabiu’s shot hit the top of the crossbar in the 42nd minute, but did not bounce in, and it stayed 1-0 at halftime.
In the second half, the Skyhawks managed to hit the woodwork again, after Bice’s shot clanked off of the left post. The Skyhawks then were able to see the game out with a few set piece opportunities, bit did not find the back of the net again.
The Cougars managed five shots in the match, and goalkeeper Peter Byrne managed three saves on the afternoon. It was the fourth shutout of the season for the Skyhawks.
“It was definitely nice to keep another clean sheet,” Oberholtzer said. “It was a little different for them because there wasn’t a whole lot of defensive work, so it could have been easy to switch off because they’re not constantly being tested. Still, they did a good job and helped us keep possession, and manage the flow of the game.”
Fort Lewis will stay on the Front Range, as it will take on Metro State University-Denver (3-3, 1-1 RMAC) at 1 p.m. Sunday at The Regency Athletic Complex.
bploen@durangoherald.com
