After an early first-half deficit, the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks responded with three unanswered goals in the second half to beat Adams State 4-1 Wednesday at Dirks Field.

The Skyhawks improved to 5-2-1 overall and 1-0 in the RMAC with the win. Adams State fell to 0-7-0, 0-1-0.

Ranulfo Lopez opened up the scoring for Adams State in the 33rd minute of the first half with a goal off a deflection.

Junior forward Tomas Duenes responded quickly with a goal in the 36th minute for Fort Lewis to tie the game going into halftime.

“I thought it could have been a little bit more comfortable for us earlier on,” Skyhawks coach David Oberholtzer said. “But yeah, we continue to make chances and continue to be dangerous and we're able to put some away in the second half.”

In the 60th minute, Fort Lewis’ leading scorer Gabriel Legendre found the back of the net with a header off a corner kick to give the Skyhawks a 2-1 lead. It was the junior forward’s sixth goal of the season.

Freshman forward Anton Hjalmarsson took over the game late in the second half to put the finishing touches on the win. The Swedish player scored goals in the 80th and 87th minutes, as the Skyhawks scored four-plus goals for the fourth time this season.

“He's a young guy, but he's a mature guy,” Oberholtzer said of Hjalmarsson. “And has stepped in, you know, straightaway and has made a great impact within the group. He's just so composed and mature as a player which I think is a key piece for somebody that's in front of goal trying to score.”

Fort Lewis will return to Dirks Field at noon on Sunday for its pink game against Colorado Christian University.

bkelly@durangoherald.com