It took four minutes for Fort Lewis College to score the game’s first goal.
Seven goals later, and the Skyhawks won their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament semifinal 8-5 against Colorado Mesa on Friday in Denver.
“We played as a real team,” FLC head coach Kelsey MacDonald said. “It was one of our better games all season, and I think we’re peaking at the right time.”
No. 2 FLC (10-6) will play No. 1 Regis (12-3) in the championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday. Regis advanced with a 17-1 victory against No. 4 Adams State (2-12).
Regis owns wins of 11-3 and 10-6 against the Skyhawks this season. FLC has had a hard time getting shots past Regis goalie Gianna Lombardi, who made seven saves in each game.
“We know Regis can score often and early. We will have to possess the ball and finish when we get chances to shoot,” MacDonald said.
Jessica Norby scored first in Friday’s game, and FLC never trailed the RMAC Tournament’s opening match against No. 3 Colorado Mesa (8-7).
Kathryn Dunn scored 36 seconds after Norby to give FLC a 2-0 lead.
Tayler Landsdown scored for Colorado Mesa, then Brook Wineland answered, and teammate Jam Vertner scored back-to-back goals in less than a minute to give the Skyhawks a 5-1 lead.
Norby, the Skyhawks’ all-time leading scorer, scored her second of the game off a free position shot with 1 minute, 51 seconds remaining in the half to give FLC a 6-2 lead at the half.
“Our attack possessed the ball when we needed to and capitalized to score some goals,” MacDonald said.
Colorado Mesa outscored FLC 3-2 in the second half, but Marissa DiCecco and Wineland’s second-half goals were enough of a cushion to keep FLC comfortable and put the Skyhawks in the inaugural RMAC Tournament championship game.
Wineland led FLC with two assists and two goals for four points
FLC goalie Alyssa Spencer, last week’s RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, made eight saves on 13 shots.
Rolling on a three-game win streak, including the program’s first-ever victory against Colorado College to end the regular season, the Skyhawks believe they can upset the Rangers on Saturday and bring home the first-ever RMAC Tournament trophy.
“The girls are pumped up. They are very confident we can upset Regis,” MacDonald said.
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