A 2-3-4 start didn’t deter the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team.
If anything, it allowed the young Skyhawks to go through a few growing pains early, and all the draws allowed FLC to keep accumulating points to remain in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament hunt.
“I think they’ve gotten a ton smarter,” FLC head coach Jimmy Hall said of his team after a 2-0 win against UC-Colorado Springs last Sunday. “Our growth has been huge every game; we’re growing.”
Now, FLC is one result away from clinching a place in this year’s RMAC Tournament. Even a draw in one of the final two games of the season will secure the Skyhawks’ place.
FLC will celebrate senior day with its final home game of the season at 3 p.m. Friday against Colorado Mesa (0-12-4, 0-9-3 RMAC).
Midfielder Shea Haycock, who still has another year of eligibility but will graduate in December, will be the lone senior recognized by the youthful Skyhawks.
Haycock and the Skyhawks would like to celebrate the day by clinching their spot in the RMAC Tournament against a winless Mavericks team. Getting a result Friday will be especially important with the season finale looming Sunday at No. 15 Colorado Mines (13-1-3, 10-1-2 RMAC).
Though it is the first matchup between the two teams this year, the Mavericks already have played two games at Dirks Field this season. They opened the year at the Skyhawks’ tournament, going 0-1-1.
Colorado Mesa has scored just eight goals this season to 31 allowed. FLC only has 11 goals on the year, but the Skyhawks have allowed only 12 against.
FLC goalkeeper Caitlyn Espinosa has eight shutouts and is 6-5-4 in goal. She has allowed an average of 0.75 goals per game while making 60 saves this year.
“I don’t think about them, ever,” Espinosa said Sunday after recording her eighth shutout. “My only job, personally, is to do as good as I can to get those balls out of the (18-yard box). I don’t worry about the result, I just try and get everything out. That way my team has confidence in me. Not so much confidence in myself but for the team to have confidence in me.”
FLC has two tied atop the team lead in goals, as Alicia Sanchez and Jessica Singleton each have three goals. Singleton leads the team in points with seven, and Courtney Riley has another two goals for the Skyhawks.
“Our ability to weave and break the lines in attack is great,” Hall said. “And defending has been fantastic.”
FLC doesn’t need a result this weekend if CSU-Pueblo were to lose one game. That would knock the ThunderWolves out of contention. Still, Hall wants his team to keep competing to try to earn the No. 4 seed in the six-team tournament.
“We’ve grown enough to ... put the work in and get a result,” Hall said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
