With all three of the team’s point leaders and one of the top goalkeepers in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference all returning from the 2019 team, Fort Lewis College men’s soccer plans on scoring a lot of goals and not giving up very many during an exciting spring schedule.
The fall 2020 season was postponed because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. And while some RMAC men’s soccer teams have already played as many as four games, the Skyhawks will finally kick off the regular season on a neutral field at 6 p.m. Friday in Grand Junction against Westminster College.
It will be the start of an abbreviated seven-game schedule to be played across three weeks before the eight-team conference tournament is held two weeks later from April 23-25. Though it is far from a full RMAC schedule, as FLC will only see five different teams, fifth-year head coach David Oberholtzer knows his squad is eager to chase a conference title.
“For student-athletes who haven’t competed in a year and a half, it’s hard to look at it and say, ‘This is just a developmental season,’ when there is an opportunity to win a championship now,” Oberholtzer said. “That’s what our guys are focused on. I think we have a group capable of meeting those expectations. So for us, the focus is on the here and now and trying to win something this spring.”
Fort Lewis will face Colorado Christian (4-0) and 2019 conference champion Colorado School of Mines (0-0) twice this season, with the first trip to Lakewood to face Colorado Christian set for Sunday.
The Skyhawks will open the home portion of the schedule at 2:30 p.m. March 28 against Colorado State University-Pueblo (1-0) before a highly-anticipated matchup with Mines at 3:30 p.m. April 1. The Orediggers entered the season ranked ninth in the United Soccer Coaches Division II national poll and were the lone RMAC team to earn a ranking.
“The entire conference, generally speaking, is getting stronger,” Oberholtzer said. “There are quite a few new faces with coaches taking over programs across the conference. A few weeks ago, Colorado Christian got a win against Regis. It just seems like there aren’t too many games anymore that you don’t have to give your best effort. That’s a great thing for the conference and for our team to know there is no game you can’t show up ready for.”
Based in a 4-3-3 formation, FLC will look to returners Loic Jean-Baptiste, Brantley Bice and Ryan Lee for goals up top. Jean-Baptiste, a sophomore from France, shined in the midfield a season ago with a team-high eight goals to go with one assist. He scored four game winners and would go on to earn First Team All-RMAC honors as well as being named to the All-South Central Region second team.
Bice, a junior from Oklahoma, tallied five goals and a team-high four assists last season. He also had four game-winning goals. Lee, a junior from Castle Rock, scored five times and had three assists.
Oberholtzer is also encouraged by the play of freshman Gabriel Legendre. The two-time New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year from Rio Rancho’s Cleveland High School scored 89 goals and had 30 assists in high school and has shown great promise in two exhibitions against Adams State coming off productive fall training. Oberholtzer anticipates Legendre in his starting lineup this weekend.
“We’ve got some really talented attacking players on top, and we also have some depth there,” Oberholtzer said. “There’s a good group of attacking guys where we feel like we can score in a couple different areas.”
Peter Byrne, a junior from Montana, is back for another year in goal for the Skyhawks. A two-time RMAC honorable mention selection and 2017 team MVP, Byrne shined in 2019 a year after an injury sidelined him. He had 10 shutouts and ranked third in the conference in save percentage.
Oberholtzer also expects to play Daniel Wilmore in goal this season. The sophomore from Texas has showed the coaching staff, including former FLC national title winning goalkeeper Ryan Wirth of Bayfield, that he can get the job done at a high level.
“Peter is a fantastic goalkeeper but also a fantastic leader. He’s one of our captains and is a constant voice for us – a really strong communicator who keeps us organized and focused all the time,” Oberholtzer said. “The other really nice thing is having a super strong No. 2 in Daniel Wilmore. He has showed really well in our exhibitions. He’s in a tough spot going unnoticed because the way Peter has played, but it’s really great to have two strong goalkeepers to push each other.”
Because FLC got three solid months of fall practices, Oberholtzer believes the team’s five freshmen will be able to compete this spring. The added depth and talent Oberholtzer has been able to recruit has the Skyhawks feeling like they can contend at their highest level in years and better than the coaches preseason prediction of a tie for fourth.
“The guys are ready to go,” Oberholtzer said. “They’ve all gotten their feet wet, and they’ve had enough of training against each other for months. You never quite know what to expect, but we felt we have controlled our exhibitions and are ready to play well this season straight away.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
