Fort Lewis’ women’s soccer team started off Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with a strong showing Friday night by beating CSU Pueblo 3-1 in FLC’s home opener.
The Skyhawks improved to 4-1-1 overall and 1-0 in RMAC play with the win. CSU Pueblo fell to 1-4-2 overall and 0-1 in RMAC play with the loss.
“We've had a hard time in that game,” FLC women’s soccer coach Damian Clarke said. “Three years in a row, we tied them once and lost twice. Those have been a tough game for us. It was good for us to get over that hump and beat another team that the last few years have been in the middle (of the conference), like us.”
CSU Pueblo opened with a goal 13 minutes in. Junior defender Renee Juna tied it up with a shot from about 25 yards out 16 minutes in. Sophomore forward Jenna Salazar gave FLC a 2-1 lead 25 minutes in with a volley from about 30 yards out. Senior midfielder Sabrina Reyes scored the third goal 27 minutes in with a shot from 25 yards out.
Clarke said the Skyhawks have scored much better this year because they’ve been better at creating chances. The more opportunities a team creates the more likely the opposing goalkeeper will make a mistake.
FLC is on the road against New Mexico Highlands on Friday at 1 p.m.
Men’s soccer stays undefeated with road win at Colorado Mesa
Injuries and struggles at times haven’t taken the zero in the loss column away from the FLC men’s soccer team. The Skyhawks went on the road and beat Colorado Mesa 1-0 on Sunday in FLC’s final non-conference game.
FLC moved to 4-0-4 with the win while Colorado Mesa fell to 3-3-1 with the loss.
Senior Tomas Duenes scored the lone goal in the third minute of the game.
“We were really good,” FLC men’s soccer head coach David Oberholtzer said. “We got the early goal which makes a big difference. But just in general, besides the goal, we started out really well. We got on top of early and had the game playing in their end. We were aggressive defensively. We made it really difficult for them to get any rhythm. We kept the ball really well.”
Oberholtzer said the last two games against CSU Pueblo and Colorado Mesa were the two best games FLC has played this season with time of possession and putting the Skyhawks’ stamp on the game.
Star sophomore forward Anton Hjalmarsson missed this game with a hamstring injury. Oberholtzer hopes to have him back for the South Dakota Mines game on Oct. 11 but said he’ll be back when he’s fully healthy.
FLC plays at Colorado Christian University on Friday at noon.
Skyhawks men’s golfer Traejan Andrews wins tournament, FLC finishes third as team
Junior golfer Taejan Andrews became the first FLC golfer to win an individual title at a tournament since 2011 with his win at the Ruidoso Junior Golf Association's South Central Shootout on Tuesday.
Andrews fired a -5-under-par 211 after three rounds at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Golf Course in Mescalero, New Mexico. He shot -3 in the first round, -2 in the second and even par for the final round.
FLC came third as a team with a +11-over-par total score. UT Permian Basin won the tournament as a team with a +7-over-par score.
Senior Jackson Rottscafer finished tied fifth at even par, although he was playing as an individual so his score didn’t count toward the team total. Redshirt junior Jordan Jennings finished +2-over-par to finish tied for 10th.
The Skyhawks golf squad heads to Canyon, Texas, for the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational hosted by West Texas A&M on Monday and Tuesday.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
