The Fort Lewis College lacrosse team got its first win of the season after it defeated fellow conference foe Oklahoma Baptist 16-6 on Monday afternoon at the Aztec Tiger Sports Complex.
The Skyhawks (1-2, 1-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) were led by sophomore midfielder Ann Nelson and freshman attack woman Rachel Hurst, as they scored four goals a piece. The duo also wreaked havoc on defense and caused seven turnovers between them – Hurst had four and Nelson had three.
Fort Lewis got off to a quick start when Nelson scored the first goal of the game just over one minute in, at the 28:56 mark. Oklahoma Baptist (2-4, 0-3 RMAC) responded through Taylor Skomp, as she found the back of the net just 12 seconds later to make it 1-1.
Fort Lewis went on a 4-0 run behind the help of Abby Escandon, who assisted on three of the four goals. FLC also closed the half on a 3-0 run when Nelson scored, as well as Delaney Benson and Maren Clark. The Skyhawks led 9-3 heading into the locker room.
In the first half, FLC dominated possession and shot totals, as the Skyhawks held a 16-5 advantage, as well as going 9-for-9 in clearances.
“Oklahoma Baptist played back a bit and it allowed us to have good transitions from defense to offense,” said FLC head coach Sean Claussen. “They gave us the opportunity, and we were able to make 50-yard passes from stick to stick, and as a coach, you can’t really ask for much more than that.”
The second half was a similar story. Fort Lewis was able to close out the game and scored five out of the final six goals in the match, including two with a man-up opportunity and another from a free position shot.
“We definitely had some plays drawn up for Lindenwood that we didn’t get to use and had a few extra tools in our basket,” Claussen said. “If we ever lost the ball, we’d get it back in the midfield, and we were a lot wider and weren’t sucked in, so we had some room to breathe.”
The Skyhawks finished a perfect 16-of-16 in clear attempts and also won the ground ball battle with a 26-24 edge over the Bison. They held a 33-23 shot advantage and 28 were on net. Escandon finished with six assists and Nelson had one.
“Abbey and Alana Wolfblack are our two low players, and Alana played well but wasn’t feeling well, so Abbey stepped up today,” Claussen said. “Her confidence and ability to get in a good position where our girls could work from, it was awesome. Seeing her step up gives me a lot of hope for the next couple of weeks.”
FLC will take on nationally-ranked No.7 Regis (6-0, 0-0 RMAC) at 3 p.m. Friday in Denver.
“Regis will be another tough ask,” Claussen said. “But this is a good case for how we want to play on Friday.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
