After trailing by a quartet of goals midway through the first half, the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team rallied late but couldn’t dig out of its early hole and fell 4-3 to Regis University in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contest on a frigid Thursday night.
Fort Lewis fell to 3-11-2 overall on the season and 2-7-0 in RMAC games. Regis advanced to 7-8-2, 4-3-2.
“Another fantastic crowd and a great environment for a college soccer game,” said Fort Lewis College Head Coach David Oberholtzer. “We put ourselves in a hole early in the game, but the boys’ character shined through as they made a valiant effort at a comeback. I thought the second half we were on a different level, but it wasn’t quite enough. We will look forward to wrapping up the season on Sunday and celebrating our seniors.”
The Rangers and Skyhawks were neck-and-neck offensively, taking an even six shots on goal each. Regis held the slim advantage in total shots 17 to 15.
Kristian Hooker and the Regis squad were on the offensive early. In the third minute, Hooker found the bottom right corner of the net from near the middle of the box.
Regis picked up its second goal moments later in the fifth minute off the foot of Rayhan Carlson-Du Toit.
Loic Jean-Baptiste gave the Skyhawks a much-needed spark in the ninth minute. Jean-Baptiste evaded a pair of Rangers in the middle of the box, utilizing his left foot to find the back-right corner of the goal, cutting the Rangers lead to 2-1.
Regis answered with a statement just moments later. Cela took a corner kick from the left side, finding Carlson-Du Toit, who passed it to Sam Gardner with a one-touch to the middle of the box for the Rangers third goal of the night.
In the 24th minute, a misplay on a loose ball from a blocked shot provided Regis a man advantage, and the Rangers took it full force. Hooker found Carlson-Du Toit in the box for the team’s fourth goal.
The Skyhawks nearly fought all the way back.
Jean-Baptiste scored his second goal from just outside the top right corner of the penalty box in the 59th minute. Moments later Isaac Garro found the back of the net, scoring on a pair of back-to-back passes from Gabriel Legendre and Andres Hernandez who each received an assist.
In the end, Fort Lewis came up just short, falling to the Rangers 4-3.
Evan Kowalski earned two saves in goal for FLC, and RU's Greg L'Hommedieu made three saves for the Rangers.
Fort Lewis will play its final match of the season at 11 a.m. Sunday against RMAC foe South Dakota Mines. The Skyhawks will celebrate its seniors Ciaran Feeney, Daniel Coronado Morales and Andres Hernandez before kickoff.
