The Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team controlled the match from start to finish in an impressive performance Friday against Colorado Christian.
The Skyhawks (7-6-0, 6-3-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) outshot the Cougars 24-6 en route to a 3-0 victory. FLC goalkeeper Elliot Chadderton was the beneficiary of excellent defense in front of him, needing to make only one save to secure the shutout, which was FLC’s third in four games.
“We’re really developing some continuity on the back line and they’ve really been shutting people down lately,” Fort Lewis head coach David Oberholtzer said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “Took awhile to get there but our defensive play is where we want it to be.”
Oberholtzer thought his guys came out of the locker room slow, but Fort Lewis forward Salifu Jatta drew an early foul in the box that provided a spark. Laurin Weiland took advantage of the penalty-kick opportunity to give the visitors a lead in the ninth minute.
With a 1-0 lead at halftime, the Skyhawks pressed even harder in a second half that saw FLC fire off 17 shots and suffocate the Cougars (1-12-0, 1-8-0 RMAC) with pressure.
The lead was boosted to 2-0 in the 62nd minute as Churchill Onumonu scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season to give his side breathing room.
“Churchill has been coming off the bench, and it’s absolutely encouraging to see him contributing in his young career at Fort Lewis,” Oberholtzer said. “We want our forwards to score, and he’s been doing that for us with consistency.”
For good measure, the Lopez twins connected in the 81st minute, as Andres found Martin for a goal to put an exclamation point on another solid FLC performance.
The Skyhawks will continue their weekend road trip at noon Sunday against Colorado Mines.
Women’s Soccer
Women’s SoccerThe Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team headed to Colorado Mesa’s Walker Field for an under-the-lights Friday-night showdown.
Fort Lewis came into the game on a roll having won its last three games, but the momentum was brought to a halt as Colorado Mesa prevailed 2-1.
After a scoreless first half, Mackenzie King gave the Mavericks the lead early in the second half with a free kick from 35 yards out that beat Fort Lewis goalkeeper Kaylee Mickens.
In the 65th minute, Colorado Mesa’s Alexis Allard fired a rocket from just outside the box that beat Mickens up high to give the Mavericks a two-goal lead.
Haleigh Macomb cut the deficit in half in the 71st minute as she tapped in a nice cross from Meredith Curran to put the Skyhawks (6-5-1, 5-3-0 RMAC) on the board and gave them hope down the stretch. As the final seconds ticked away, FLC’s Courtney Riley made some nice moves to set up a scoring chance, but her blast sailed wide left with 8 seconds remaining, and the Mavericks (6-5-2, 4-3-1 RMAC) walked away with the 2-1 win that snapped a Skyhawks’ three-game winning streak.
Colorado Mesa doubled up FLC in shots 10-5, and Mickens made three saves in the loss.
Fort Lewis will try to get back in the win column with a 1 p.m. Sunday matchup at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.
Volleyball
VolleyballFort Lewis’ volleyball team dropped its third match in a row Friday night with a 3-0 loss at Chadron State.
The Eagles took the first set 25-19 before dominating the second set in a 25-13 win. The Skyhawks tried to gain some third set momentum to mount a comeback, but they lost a well-fought set 25-20.
Bailey Longacre and Matisse Monty led FLC with five kills each. Kendra Swackenberg led the way with 22 assists and Ally Dell’Amico’s 18 digs were the most for Fort Lewis in the loss.
The Skyhawks will try to snap the losing streak with a 5 p.m. match Saturday at Regis.
jfries@durangoherald.com
