For the first time in over a decade, the Fort Lewis men’s soccer team punched its ticket to the NCAA tournament.
The eighth-seeded Skyhawks will face ninth-seeded University of Colorado Colorado Springs for the third time this season at 2 p.m. Friday at the regional tournament in Wichita Falls, Texas.
The winner will face Midwestern State University, the host team and No. 1 seed, at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Skyhawks’ last NCAA Division II tournament appearance came in 2011, when they won the national championship. This year also marks the first time a Fort Lewis team coached by David Oberholtzer has made it to the big dance.
“I'm really happy for the guys,” Oberholtzer said. “They put a lot of work into this and not just this year, but years past and also guys that aren't even in the program any longer put a lot of time and energy and effort in into the program. I'm just happy that they can reap these rewards right now, but we also want to make sure we're not just content being invited to the tournament, we want to go and show what we're about.”
Oberholtzer said the support he felt at Dirks Field during the RMAC tournament finals was what he’s been pushing the program toward since he became head coach in 2016.
The first two matchups between Fort Lewis and UCCS were a mixed bag for the Skyhawks. UCCS won the first matchup 3-2 at Dirks Field, while Fort Lewis won the second matchup 4-0 in the RMAC tournament semifinals on Nov. 5.
Although CSU Pueblo handed Fort Lewis its second shutout loss this season in the RMAC tournament championship match, Oberholtzer isn’t worried about his offense, only his team’s mentality.
Oberholtzer doesn’t want to change much schematically, but he wants his squad to open the regional tournament with confidence.
“We want to be able to control the game And dictate the game with the ball,” Oberholtzer said. “If we can be patient and make good decisions under pressure, I'm anticipating that they're going to press us high. We just have to be good enough to play through that pressure instead of panic under it. If we can do that, then I'm confident in getting a positive result.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
