The Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team shut out Regis University in an impressive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener Friday.
Junior Tamino Kroeger and senior Zac Lawrence provided the offensive firepower for the Skyhawks in the dominant 2-0 road win.
“The last couple years we’ve come here we played well but didn’t come away with a win,” Fort Lewis head coach Oige Kennedy said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “We felt like we controlled the game (Friday), and it was good to finally come here and get the result we felt we deserved.”
Fort Lewis (3-2, 1-0 RMAC) dominated time of possession in the first half and outshot the Rangers 11-6 and 6-2 in on goal.
It didn’t take long for the Skyhawks to grab the lead. In the 27th minute, Lawrence took a pass from junior midfielder Yannis Becker and found the back of the net, putting Fort Lewis up for good.
Shortly after halftime Kroeger, in his first game back off an injury, put some separation between his team and Regis (1-2, 0-1 RMAC) with an unassisted tally to make the score 2-0 in the 63rd minute.
Freshman goalkeeper Elliot Chadderton posted his second consecutive shutout for the Skyhawks. He is now 3-0 in goal after replacing senior Ryan Schaul, who was suspended two games for a red card early in the season.
“Elliot had some big saves in the first and second half,” Kennedy said. “Even when we are dominating possession, that’s the role of the keeper on this team. He has to be ready no matter how often he sees action.”
There wasn’t much action for Chadderton, but he made all five of the saves he was called upon to make.
The match didn’t end without incident, as Regis defender Ingram Coller was issued a red card for a tackle on Nicolas Perez. Perez had to be helped off the field after writhing in pain for a number of minutes.
Perez’s progress will be monitored by the team, and his status is questionable for the next game against South Dakota Mines, 1 p.m. Sunday.
“We’re going up to South Dakota for what we hope will be our fourth win,” said Kennedy. “At this point of the season, it’s important to put together blocks of wins, and if we can do that on the road, we’ll be in pretty good shape.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
