For the first time since 2011, the Fort Lewis men’s soccer squad is the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season champions. The Skyhawks beat 17th-ranked Colorado Mesa 3-0 on the road Sunday to get the job done.
Fort Lewis improved to 10-3-4 overall and 6-1-3 in the RMAC with the win. Colorado Mesa fell to 10-3-5 overall and 5-1-4 in RMAC play after the loss.
“I'm super excited for the guys and proud of the guys,” Skyhawks coach David Oberholtzer said. “A lot of our senior players that have been with the program, looking back last year where we had a lot of struggles and to be able to fight through and to turn the team around the way we've done is really exciting, I’m super proud for them.”
Oberholtzer said at the beginning of the year, he knew he was bringing in a talented group of players. The biggest question was whether the new players would mesh with the returning players.
“There's certainly a lot of talent in quality within the group but they're all high-character people,” Oberholtzer said. “They trust each other and believe in each other and they work for each other. If we don't have that piece, then this doesn't happen.”
One of those talented players is freshman forward Anton Hjalmarsson. The Swedish freshman scored two goals in Sunday’s match and was named the RMAC men’s soccer offensive player of the week.
Hjalmarsson scored the Skyhawks’ first goal off a cross from senior midfielder Loic-Jean Baptiste in the 27th minute.
After not playing in the previous match, junior defender Adnan Elaqad made his mark on Sunday with a header off a cross from sophomore midfielder David Citron in the 37th minute to take a commanding 2-0 lead at halftime. Elaqad won the RMAC men’s soccer defensive player of the week award.
Citron then assisted Hjalmarsson in the 67th minute to put the match away.
It was Fort Lewis’ second shutout victory of the regular season.
“Defensively, I don't think we gave them any time to breathe or make decisions or ever to be comfortable,” Oberholtzer said. “Just constantly putting them under pressure and forcing giveaways and forcing turnovers. I thought we were really relentless for the whole 90 minutes.”
The Skyhawks host their next game at Dirks Field as the number one seed in the RMAC. Fort Lewis will face the winner of CCS or Westminster on Sunday at 5 p.m.
Women’s soccer forces draw
The Skyhawks played to a 0-0 tie hosting Metropolitan State University of Denver on Sunday It was the third time this season Fort Lewis finished a match in a scoreless tie.
Fort Lewis moved to 8-3-6 overall and 4-3-4 in the RMAC. MSU Denver moved to 6-5-6 overall and 5-3-3 in the RMAC.
“We left that game a little bit frustrated because we felt like now that we've had time to reflect, with 56% of the ball so possession-wise, we dominated,” Fort Lewis coach Damian Clarke said. “We played against a team that did a really good job of sticking to their game plan of making it very difficult for us and absorbing our pressure and they played a good game against us tactically. It was a little bit frustrating, but at the same time, you lose that game you feel a whole lot worse than a draw, that's for sure.”
MSU Denver outshot the Skyhawks 10-8. However, Clarke said he didn’t feel his back line was under a ton of pressure throughout the match.
Fort Lewis had to win to secure a RMAC tournament quarterfinals match at home. The Skyhawks will open the RMAC tournament on the road, but their opponent will depend on how the regular season ends.
The Skyhawks will play at Western Colorado University on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
