It’s an old habit that won’t die easily.
The Fort Lewis College Skyhawks’ women’s soccer team once again struggled with finishing its scoring opportunities in a 2-0 loss to No. 4 Colorado School of Mines on Friday at Dirks Field.
FLC (4-4-5, 3-2-4 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) only managed to put two shots on goal that both were saved by Mines keeper Jayln Yates despite connecting well in the buildup play.
“We had a lot of dangerous opportunities; we just didn’t capitalize on them,” FLC junior Shea Haycock said. “Our chances were good, just, same thing, we struggled to finish.”
Neither team found many openings early.
Mines (11-1-2, 8-0-1 RMAC) pressured heavily from the opening whistle.
It paid off in the 39th minute when the Orediggers won a corner kick on the left side of the field.
Emily Garnier served the ball to Brooke Stoermer, who headed the ball in to give Mines a 1-0 lead.
“It was vital to get the first goal. This was our fourth game in eight days,” Colorado Mines’ head coach Kevin Fickes said. “I thought we were visibly tired. The longer the game went on, with Fort moving the ball nicely and us chasing it, the harder it was gonna get for us to break through.”
Kenzie King doubled the Orediggers’ lead with 25 seconds left in the first half.
“They take the wind out of your sails, and they stomp on your energy a little bit,” FLC head coach Jimmy Hall said of the late goals. “I thought the girls came back in the second half and kept the ball well again and became dangerous as the game went on. It’s difficult to come back from that type of lead.”
The Skyhawks certainly tried, though.
They fired off five shots in the second half and forced Yates to make both of her saves after halftime.
Yates also snatched several crosses out of the air before they could reach FLC players free in the box.
“She’s a great goalie. She’s big in the air. She’s super athletic. We struggle in the air finishing,” Haycock said. “With a goalie like that, I gotta give her props. She did a great job.”
FLC also was able to create chances off of corner kicks for much of the game. The Skyhawks won six corners compared to just one for Mines but couldn’t find a goal.
“Not aggressive enough on those corners. We need to be a bit more aggressive and get ourselves moving earlier,” Hall said. “I think, at times, we were rushed. Our kickers played the ball a bit early, and that made it harder for people to get set into positions and get moving.”
The loss snapped a seven-game unbeaten streak for FLC, which hadn’t lost since Sept. 19 at Regis.
The Skyhawks still rank fifth in the RMAC standings after the loss and will travel for a noon game Sunday at CSU-Pueblo.
“I thought they got two very dangerous opportunities in front of the goal, and my girls were reluctant to get in front and to be big, strong kids that they are,” Hall said. “We were just hoping to let those plays die and hoping for the game to end, and it caught us.”
kgrabowski@ durangoherald.com
