The Fort Lewis College lacrosse team got off to a good start on Sunday at Ray Dennison Memorial Field against the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, but it did not last, as the Skyhawks fell 16-6.
Freshman midfielder Rachel Hurst opened the scoring for FLC with the game’s first goal at the 27:20 mark of the first half. Hurst finished with three goals. Then, the Mountain Lions’ offense woke up and scored five consecutive goals to make it 5-1 with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. Three goals came from a free position shot, while UCCS added another on a man-up situation.
“It was a tough start for us,” said Fort Lewis head coach Sean Claussen. “We scored that opening goal, and then had just too many things go against us, from turnovers to giving them those free position shots. We did a better job once we settled into the game a bit, but there are still some things we need to clean up.”
Abby Escandon scored her only goal of the day for FLC (1-5. 1-4 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) to make it 5-2 with 12:03 remaining. The Mountain Lions did not give in, however, after they scored four out of the final five goals of the first half. Kiera Lowe and Audrey Napp scored twice in the first half for UCCS.
The Mountain Lions (5-6, 3-2 RMAC) led 9-3 at halftime.
In the second half, junior goalie Daris Wienk made save after save to keep FLC in the game, as she had nine of her 16 saves. It was not enough to ignite FLC’s offense, as it was outscored 7-3.
“Daris is our MVP,” Claussen said. “She has kept us in games that could have been so far out of hand, and she makes amazing saves that as a former goalie, I get so fired up. There are times where I know that I wouldn’t have made that save, but she steps up in the times that we need her.”
FLC honored its two seniors, attacker Allena Wolfblack and defender Aitana Rivera, both of whom have been since the program for all four seasons. Claussen called the two invaluable because of their experience.
“They are very dedicated, love the program and are trying to hold their teammates to the standard that they have been brought up through the program,” Claussen said. “With our kind of rebuilding year right now and us trying to re-shape our culture, they’ve been great and it’s something that we’re going to use what they’ve done as a stepping stone to continue to rebuild.”
FLC still has an outside shot of getting into the conference tournament, but to do so, it will have to string together a few wins. The Skyhawks will travel to Alamosa (0-8, 0-4 RMAC) to take on Adams State at 1 p.m. Friday at ASU.
The Fort Lewis College softball program had a memorable weekend after it won three out of four games against New Mexico Highlands, and Emily Morris tossed the seventh no-hitter in program history.
On Saturday, Highlands (7-20, 6-15 RMAC) won the first game 6-0, but FLC quickly responded by taking the second game 14-5 in six innings. Taylor Hollestelle went 3-for-4 with six RBIs.
On Sunday, the Skyhawks (13-28, 8-20 RMAC) swept the Cowgirls and won the first game 7-4. In the second game, FLC jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and added seven in the third, three in the fourth and two in the fifth to make it 16-0. That is how it would finish.
Morris (7-7) could not be beaten, as she went five innings, had five strikeouts and allowed three walks in her no-hitter.
FLC will host Metropolitan State University-Denver on Saturday and Sunday at Aspen Field.
bploen@durangoherald.com
