If you directly message Anton Hjalmarsson, don’t expect a quick response.
It wasn’t too long ago when the Fort Lewis freshman forward had a totally different path set up. After Hjalmarsson graduated high school in Sweden in 2021, he worked as a salesman for one and a half years.
Then Hjalmarsson wanted a change of scenery from his hometown of Smålandsstenar. He proceeded to open a year-old DM from a Swedish company that sent players to the U.S. to play college soccer and started the conversation.
It wasn’t a long conversation.
“(Coach David Oblerholtzer) was the first to reach out and get a conversation in,” Hjalmarsson said. “I thought it was great, and I wanted to get it over with and make the decision. I didn’t really think about any other schools.”
Hjalmarsson liked the small-town vibe of Durango, as well as the nature and the grass field the Skyhawks play on.
Smålandsstenar is a town of about 5,000 people where Hjalmarsson grew up and learned the game from his father and brother.
“My dad was the coach for my older brother so I started with going a bit early to his trainings to see how it was and play a bit,” Hjalmarsson said. “Of course, it was tough at that age being a lot smaller.”
Hjalmarsson’s dedication from an early age has paid off for the Skyhawks. The freshman forward is tied for second on the team with six goals and is second on the team with five assists for the 8-3-2 Fort Lewis men’s soccer team.
“He's got so many tools,” Oberholtzer said about Hjalmarsson. “He's obviously a big guy. He's strong, he's fast, he's intelligent. He can finish in front of goal, he's really composed. He works really hard on both sides of the ball going forward and defending as well. He's just a really well-rounded, mature player.”
With numerous foreign players on the Skyhawks’ roster, Hjalmarsson said it wasn’t hard to blend into the group as there are many foreign first-year players on the team in the same situation as him.
Playing in the third division of the Swedish soccer league helped prepare Hjalmarsson for college soccer.
“It was around the level that I thought,” Hjalmarsson said. “I knew there was going to be a lot of great players. I played on an adult team. The main strengths I had like being quicker, those kinds of attributes all the players have here.”
Hjalmarsson has also thrived in the second half during multiple matches.
He had a critical second-half goal to tie a match against Montana State University Billings in the second half. The Swedish star also scored the game-winning goal against Metropolitan State University of Denver in the second half earlier in the year, as well as two goals in the second half to put away Adams State University.
“It’s not something I have thought about, but I can imagine that it has to do with us tiring out the opponents throughout the match which opens up good chances for us,” Hjalmarsson said of his second-half heroics. “So I just have to make sure that I can run more than my opponents.”
For the rest of the season, Hjalmarsson hopes the team can finish as one of the top teams in the conference and make the NCAA tournament.
“He's a key player in our team right now,” Oberholtzer said. “He's definitely playing an important role but I think the group as a whole has really come together. There's a lot of ability within the group, but just the camaraderie within the entire group top to bottom, plays a huge role in the success of the group. I wouldn't put the success on any one person, but he's certainly playing a key role.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
