Fort Lewis men’s soccer head coach David Oberholtzer said his Skyhawks and CSU Pueblo were well-matched. He wasn’t wrong.
The Skyhawks and ThunderWolves traded blows all night. Anytime one team scored a goal, the other had a response. It was easy to see these teams have played each other three times in less than a year.
After two straight ties for 18th-ranked FLC, the Skyhawks looked like they had a signature win against the ninth-ranked team in Division II up 2-1 late in the second half. But CSU Pueblo had one last counterpunch via a penalty kick with two minutes to go. ThunderWolves captain Caio Oliveira finished the penalty kick, which sealed the 2-2 result.
Fort Lewis remained undefeated at 3-0-4 overall and CSU Pueblo moved to 5-1-1 with the tie.
“It was a really good game,” Oberholtzer said. “Our guys worked super hard. They’re a little disappointed because they felt like they should’ve won the game. If we would’ve managed the clock a little better in the final moments, we could’ve got there but it’s a great learning opportunity.”
Freshman midfielder Jacob Ramos scored the first goal assisted by senior defender Adnan Elaqad. Fifth-year Gabriel Legendre scored a penalty kick for FLC. Sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Martin had six saves for FLC.
CSU Pueblo defender Dylan Zavatini had a goal assisted by Shjon Andrews and Oliveira had the other. ThunderWolves goalkeeper Tristan Whitlock had two saves.
It was a beautiful night for soccer with a slight breeze as the sun set.
Always dangerous off set pieces, the ThunderWolves struck first off a corner kick. A ball from the right corner was hit in and headed off the post. Dylan Zavatini found the rebound and hit it in for the goal with 27 minutes left.
Notably absent from that play was senior defender Jakob Larson who had to come out right before the kick because of blood.
“It’s not an ideal moment for him to be off the field with him being our most dominant player in the air,” Oberholtzer said about Larson. “We know that’s where they are dangerous and they took advantage in that moment.”
FLC continued to struggle to create good chances in the attacking third in the first half like in previous games.
With three minutes to go, the Skyhawks had a corner. Lately, the Skyhawks have had trouble connecting on corners with most of them going long. This time, the ball hit Larson’s head and hit a CSU Pueblo player. The ball bounced around and Ramos got a foot on it and put it in the top left corner for a 1-1 tie.
CSU Pueblo outshot FLC 8-3 in the first half.
“We continued to play into pressure in the first half,” Oberholtzer said. “We did a better job in the second half of drawing pressure, playing out to the weak side and looking for those spaces.
Martin had a strong save to start the second half and keep things level. FLC continued to have some good possession in the midfield but couldn’t get any good looks on Whitlock.
Oliveira had a free kick from about 25 yards out and Martin took it away. Off that clearance, CSU Pueblo got the ball back deep in its own half. The Skyhawks created a turnover and Aguilera had a flurry of moves around the top of the 18-yard box and was taken down just inside the box for a penalty.
Legendre took it and buried it in the lower right corner for a 2-1 lead with 31:48 to go. Oberholtzer said Legendre was the right man to take the penalty kick with his experience and composure in those moments.
The goal seemed to energize the Skyhawks in their press for the next 10 minutes. Legendre had a beautiful chested settle followed by a flick over a ThunderWolves defender. He dribbled in close and shot it wide.
CSU Pueblo pressured FLC in the last five minutes and it paid off. The ThunderWolves forced a turnover in FLC’s half and junior defender Casey Stracher was called for a foul in the 18-yard box as a CSU Pueblo striker was dribbling close to goal. This set up the game-tying kick by Oliveira.
“It was a clear penalty,” Oberholtzer said. “He got him for sure. It’s maybe a fair result and a good college soccer game.
The Skyhawks hit the road to play at Colorado Mesa on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Mavericks received votes in the Division II Top 25.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
