Three times, the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team had a bevy of chances and dominated long stretches of play against unbeaten Colorado Mines.
But on Sunday, similar to the previous two games, the Orediggers found a way to pull out a one-goal victory.
FLC outshot Mines 9-1 after halftime, but the Skyhawks couldn’t find the equalizer as second-ranked and top-seeded Colorado Mines won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament with a 2-1 win over third-seeded FLC on Sunday in Golden.
Anna Delaray scored after receiving a long clear in the fifth minute, and Anna Evans scored her 14th of the year off a corner kick in the 12th minute to put the Orediggers (19-0-1) up 2-0 early.
“I think we played even better in this game than we did (in a 2-1 loss) at home,” FLC head coach Damian Clarke said. “Really a little bit of a lapse in concentration and energy in the first 15 minutes, and obviously they got done what they needed to.”
From there, FLC (16-5-0) got back on track and started pushing to get back even. Therese Romero scored her third goal of the season in the 44th minute to trim the lead in half.
But the Skyhawks could get no closer despite the massive shot disparity after halftime. Jayln Yates stopped seven shots, including five after halftime, to keep the Orediggers in the lead.
“Obviously, this is a Mines team that can defend extremely well, and they did so (Sunday),” Clarke said.
Emma Cannis, Brooke Milliet, Romero and Nicole Schumacher landed on the all-tournament team for the Skyhawks. Evans was named tournament MVP.
The Skyhawks now will await their NCAA Tournament assignment Monday night. Fort Lewis entered the weekend second in the South Central Region standings.
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