An early goal proved to be the difference as the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision versus Chaminade University in its season opener on Thursday.
Sophomore Aubrey Swindle led the offensive charge for Fort Lewis, tallying three shots on goal in 49 minutes of play. Sophomore Sabrina Reyes and freshman Clara Tallent each notched a shot on goal for the contest. Junior Katie Dunbabin started the match between the pipes and earned four saves through 45 minutes of play. Sophomore Katlyn Rosenbaum assumed goalkeeper duties in the second half and registered four saves.
After Chaminade’s Hoku Schatz beat one defender and scored in the side netting, about 12 minutes in, Swindle attacked and nearly tied the game a couple of times. After a nice give-and-go with Josie Coulter, Swindle put a shot on goal, but Chaminade keeper Naomi Takata made a sliding stop. Just before halftime, Swindle fired another shot on target, but it was saved with a dive.
“Swindle is just a terrifying athlete for opposing teams to deal with,” said FLC head coach Damian Clarke. “She is so strong and impressively fast, and she has technically grown since her freshman year. We expect her to continue being a dangerous player to deal with.”
Chaminade finished with a 15-6 advantage in shots, including a 9-5 edge in shots on goal.
“We are disappointed with the result, but you can see what style of soccer we are trying to play and what we want to do on the field,” Clarke said. “The young players are doing what we’ve asked. There are a lot of bright spots, and I think we saw that tonight. We have talented kids who put in good shifts, but it's our goal to figure out how to use them from here.”
The Skyhawks will play at home again at 1 p.m. Saturday against Lubbock Christian. Lubbock played Western Colorado on Thursday before the Fort Lewis game and beat the Mountaineers 3-0.
After trailing for nearly 90 minutes, Gabriel Legendre netted the equalizing goal with just seconds left propelling the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team to a tie with the University of Texas Permian Basin 1-1 Thursday night.
“It was a really tough environment to play in,” Fort Lewis College head coach David Oberholtzer said. “They are a very physical team and a have good crowd that gets behind them. I think we were a bit shell-shocked and had a little difficult time adjusting. The fight from the group and the desire to keep pushing helped us find a late goal to equalize, and for that I’m very proud of the group. We'll look to bounce back Saturday with a stronger collective performance.”
The game in Odessa was a defensive battle through and through. The Skyhawks managed just four shots in the opening half while the Falcons had nine.
UTPB finally broke it open in the 53rd minute when Gustavo Barroso netted the opening goal with assistance from Sergio Gonzalez and Emiliano Cardona.
The defensive battle remained stagnant well into the second half, yet neither side would yield as they exchanged yellow cards in a close contest. It was in the 88th minute that Legendre landed the equalizer with the help of Tomas Duenes to bring about a 1-1 tie.
The Skyhawks will remain in Texas, next taking on Lubbock Christian on Saturday.
The Durango High School boys soccer team was also in action on Thursday, taking on the Farmington Scorpions. The Demons gave up their first goal of the season, but won 5-1 to improve to 3-0 overall.
DHS will now play its first home game, welcoming Glenwood Springs to town for a noon kickoff on Saturday.
The Ignacio High School girls volleyball team visited Del Norte on Thursday. Ignacio started strong and won the first set, 25-17. Del Norte, however, won the next three sets, 25-22, 25-20 and 26-24 to take the match.
The Durango High School softball team began Ponderosa High School’s Mustang Stampede on Friday by facing the best pitchers the team has seen all year.
The Demons faced Columbine and were ready to compete.
“The first couple of innings were pretty exciting,” said DHS head coach John Bernazzani. “We had traffic on the bases.”
Alaysia Kremer also gunned out a speedy courtesy runner trying to steal second, with shortstop Tehya Barnes applying the tag.
Later in the game, Columbine hit a double off of the fence and a runner tried to score from second. Center fielder Cori Davis, however, relayed to Barnes who turned and threw home to Kremer to get the runner out at the plate.
“Those were two incredible plays,” Bernazzani said.
Alexa Bedonie scored in the third inning for DHS to tie the game, 1-1. Errors, however, helped Columbine score six runs in both of the third and fourth innings to win the game, 13-1.
“Kelly (Arthur) did a great job pitching that game and did a good job keeping them off balance,” the coach said.
Arthur and Barnes also got base hits in the game.
The Demons then faced Vista Ridge, but fell 10-0 after the middle of the fifth.
Jenna Glueck stated on the mound for DHS and gave up four runs, but none were earned. Grace Pargin relived Glueck and got the team’s only hit.
“They never dropped their heads,” Bernazzani said.
Things won’t get any easier for DHS on Saturday. The team will conclude the tournament by facing Rampart, Pueblo South and Ponderosa.
