The Fort Lewis men’s soccer team’s best season in over a decade came to an end in Texas on Sunday, as the Skyhawks lost to Midwestern State University, the region’s top seed, 2-1 in the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament.
In its best campaign since 2011, Fort Lewis finished with a 12-5-4 record overall. Midwestern State improved to 20-0-1 and will face CSU Pueblo in the third round.
“Midwestern was the best team that we had seen all year,” Skyhawks coach David Oberholtzer said. “We were able to kind of stand toe to toe with them, the No. 2 team in the country, the No. 1 seed in our region. The first 10-15 minutes, it took us a little bit defensively to figure out some things and unfortunately, we conceded in that time. But after that we got a lot more solid, more difficult to break down. Lucas (Martin) our goalkeeper had a fantastic game. We had a number of chances of our own.”
The Mustangs outshot the Skyhawks 21-11, including a 9-4 advantage in the first half. Midwestern State got on the scoreboard first, as Jack Larkin finished in the 10th minute to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead.
The score remained 1-0 at halftime, but Midwestern State increased its lead to 2-0 in the 62nd minute after Max Gonzales found the back of the net.
“This year in particular, they're very senior-heavy. They've just got a lot of good players, and they moved the ball really well,” Oberholtzer said of Midwestern State. “We kind of took turns forcing the other team to defend. We definitely defended more in that game than we had all year. And it sounded like it was a similar situation for them as well. I think we were the toughest opponent that they've seen as well, based on conversations with their coaching staff.”
Freshman forward Anton Hjalmarsson showed how tough Fort Lewis was with a goal in the 66th minute off an assist from junior forward Tomas Duentes, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Martin had a fantastic day in net, finishing with seven saves, five of which came in the second half to keep the Skyhawks within striking distance.
However, Fort Lewis couldn’t find the back of the net for a second time in a foul-ridden game. The Skyhawks had 18 fouls, while the Mustangs had 14 fouls.
Hjalmarsson had a few good chances at the net, but the final nail in the coffin came when senior midfielder Aymaro Vargas got his second yellow card in the 87th minute and was sent off.
“The guys played well and they were in the game,” Oberholtzer said. “They weren't shying away from anything. So I think that alone is already progress there. So also, just from an expectation standpoint, the guys know that they're capable of being a really good side. Now we've been on stage and now the expectation is to return to that and try to get a couple more steps forward.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
