After the first 10 attempts, it seemed inevitable.
FLC defender Madyson Wellcome scored a header off of Fort Lewis’ 11th corner of the second half to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 win over CSU-Pueblo on Sunday at Dirks Field.
The Skyhawks outshot Pueblo 27-3 and picked up 14 corners compared to none for the ThunderWolves.
But Pueblo’s defense held for 86 minutes until Wellcome’s breakthrough off of a corner from Emma Cannis.
“I wouldn’t say that set pieces are necessarily our strength,” FLC head coach Damian Clarke said. “We worked on it a bit more, but realistically we’re a team that would like to score in the run of play.”
Given enough opportunities though, the Skyhawks found a way to put it into the back of the net.
It was Wellcome’s first goal of the season and second of her career.
“I was thrilled, having to run up there from the back all the time and not getting results; it’s frustrating having to sprint back on the counter,” Wellcome said. “It’s nice to actually get to celebrate and then go back to my spot.”
FLC (11-3, 7-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) had its chances earlier in the match but couldn’t find a goal.
Sam Weiss and Megan Striedel missed wide, while Pueblo (5-8, 2-8 RMAC) goalie Savannah Thompson turned away Grace Sheridan’s attempt in the 23rd minute.
The ThunderWolves only had one shot in the first half, which played into their more conservative, posession-oriented style.
“It took us a while to realize that we can step our line of confrontation up higher and engage them earlier because they’re not quite as good across the map (as Colorado Mines),” Clarke said.
The Skyhawks won for the second consecutive game and third in their last four with the only loss coming on the road at No. 5 Colorado Mines.
“Friday was the kind of loss you take with a grain of salt because we played well,” Wellcome said. “We came out (Sunday); we needed the win. We tried to continue on what we did Friday.”
The Skyhawks next play at 1 p.m. Friday at home against Metro State.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
