The Fort Lewis College lacrosse team got off to a flying start under first-year head coach Ashley Travis.
The Skyhawks (1-0) got a season-opening 23-2 win over Johnson & Wales Sunday at Highlands Ranch. After practicing indoors for the majority of the offseason, the Skyhawks let loose on the turf, as they scored 15 goals in the first half and added eight more in the second to secure the win.
“It was good to see what we can do out there and play somebody besides our own defense,” Travis said. “We didn’t run all of our plays or anything, but we saw how the runs that we did run would work out against a different defense. We got a lot of good contributions across the board, and we don’t have one or two players that are going to be threats – we’ve got a bunch of contributors.”
Fort Lewis had 14 different players score in the win. The Skyhawks were led by freshman midfielder Hallie Marker with four goals; six players scored twice and seven scored once.
“Hallie played fast and did a good job of getting back on defense,” Travis said, who took over for Sean Claussen in August after spending three seasons at Division III Heidelberg University in Ohio. “Now they know what they can do going into our harder games in the season. It’s exciting to see what they can put together. They really went out there and played fearless.”
The Wildcats (1-4) were unable to get anything going on offense, as they recorded just eight total shots. Jochleyn Suglio and Ashley Guerrero scored goals, which came midway through the second half. Fort Lewis answered back with three more goals after the Wildcats got on the board. FLC senior goalie Daris Wienk got the start and the win, recording three saves in one half of action. She was replaced by freshman Averi Basso, who made two saves in the second half. Johnson & Wales’ Bridgid McCollam made 12 saves in the loss.
“We re-defended really well today,” Travis said. “When they got the ball, we didn’t let them get into their offensive rhythm or into our defensive end a lot. A lot of the turnovers happened in the midfield, and when they did, we pressured the ball really hard. I want to control the pace, and not the other way around. It was good to see everyone working hard.”
Fort Lewis will not have issues with team numbers this season after the Skyhawks forfeited three games last season. Twelve true freshmen are on this year’s team. Seven of them scored on Sunday. It is the most freshmen in program history, and all signed under Claussen. With the added depth, Travis is excited to see what FLC can do.
“I think that’s one of the biggest things we talked about as a team this year,” Travis said. “You never know what’s going to happen, and I tell the girls that you have to work hard every day at practice and give it 100% because I can switch around the lineup at any time. The healthy competition between the girls will only make us better as we go forward.”
Fort Lewis will stay on the Front Range, as the Skyhawks will play Division III Cornell College (1-1) of Iowa at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Denver at the Aurora Sports Park.
bploen@durangoherald.com
