The Fort Lewis women’s soccer team engaged in a number of close battles with tougher competition that resulted in six draws on the scoreboard.
The Skyhawks’ last three draws were scoreless, including a 0-0 tie on the road last month against Rocky Mountain Athletic conference Soccer heavyweight Colorado School of Mines – which Fort Lewis will again make the long drive to, but this time to open the RMAC tournament. That match gets underway on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Mines (13-2-3) earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament after finishing 9-1-2 in the conference. Despite three losses, Fort Lewis (9-3-6) had too many regular-season ties and is the No. 7 seed after an RMAC record of 5-3-4.
“The team goal this year was to try and get ourselves at least to a (No. 6 seed) so we could avoid having to go to play (No. 1 or No. 2),” Skyhawks coach Damian Clarke said. “At the same time, in the conference, (Colorado Mesa) goes from fourth in the country less than two weeks ago to fourth in the conference in a 10-day span. You pick your poison, and I think most of the teams probably feel that way about us, too. We’re not an easy draw.”
In the Oct. 5 matchup at Mines, the Skyhawks were outshot 27-5 and held on to the draw. However, the difference between shots on goal was only 5-3 in favor of Mines.
Clarke said his squad is a tough matchup for teams because they possess the ball so well. Therefore, when Fort Lewis has the ball most of the time, it’s hard for teams to score.
Sophomore defender Rachel Peebles played all 90 minutes in the previous matchup against Mines. She said the team and the back line specifically did a great job communicating so the whole squad could keep track of the Orediggers’ movements.
Peebles said the key to this latest matchup with Mines will come down to Fort Lewis staying composed and patient.
“We need to play our game because we know how to move the ball around and connect passes,” Peebles said. “We know the movements. We just have to stay focused and not get in our heads or overwhelmed.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
