In Tuesday’s battle of Hawks, the Skyhawks flew highest and soared above their foes in the conference standings.
The Fort Lewis College women’s lacrosse team fired on all cylinders as it took on the Rockhurst Hawks of Kansas City, Missouri. The Skyhawks used three goals each from Nikki Fry and Shelby Madden along with brilliant goalie play by Alyssa Spencer to beat Rockhurst 10-5 at home on Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
With the win, the Skyhawks (4-5, 4-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) moved into fourth place in the league standings, and Rockhurst (7-5, 3-2 RMAC) fell to sixth.
Madden had three goals, two assists and led the Skyhawks with five points. Fry notched her first career hat trick and added an assist. Spencer, a Durango High School alumna, was tough to beat in net and finished with 11 saves.
“We were really happy with our all-around defensive effort today,” Fort Lewis head coach Julia Decker said. “We had a good game plan, and the girls executed it well. They have a few players they like to go to and some moves they use every game, and we really shut them down.”
Rockhurst came into the matchup riding a four-game winning streak, but Brooke Galle and Madden got the Fort Lewis offense going first. Madden set up Galle for two of the game’s first three goals, and Fry scored the other to give FLC a 3-0 lead.
Madden scored the team’s next two goals, and the Skyhawks defense was in fine form. The combination produced a 5-3 lead at halftime.
Rockhurst came out strong in the second half but was greeted by a brick wall in the net in Spencer.
The senior goalie made a number a big saves in the opening minutes of the second half to keep the lead intact. Spencer and the defense held Rockhurst scoreless for almost 17 minutes to start the second half.
“The defense had some great defensive slides that gave them low angles, and from those low angles came good saves,” Spencer said. “It was just us all working well together and a total team thing.”
The discouraged Hawks couldn’t find a way to beat the Durango High School product between the pipes, and the Skyhawks took advantage at the other end.
FLC scored four of the first five goals in the second half to widen the gap. Madden, Ryann Pierce, Delaney Benson and Fry scored to give Fort Lewis a 9-4 lead midway through the second half. Fry added a late goal to complete her hat trick, and the Skyhawks rose above the Hawks in the RMAC standings.
“I’m just trying to do the little things right and just do what we do in practice,” Fry said. “I think, as a team, we’re starting to do that and it’s making a difference. They were ahead of us in the standings and they’re a good team, so this proves that you can’t overlook us.”
Fort Lewis will try to win its third consecutive game at 3 p.m. Friday at home against Adams State.
jfries@durangoherald.com
