A late goal left the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team wanting a little bit more in the Skyhawks’ home opener Friday afternoon at Dirks Field.
The Skyhawks held a 1-0 lead through 85 minutes of play against St. Mary’s University before a header found the back of the net to tie the match and send the action to overtime before concluding in a 1-1 draw.
“We knew we had them, and we thought we could catch them in overtime,” said Fort Lewis forward Churchill Onumonu. “In the last five minutes to concede (a goal) is upsetting, but it’s a long game; you get tired and sometimes your mentality has to be it’s better to not lose than give away something stupid. It was tight, we wanted it, but we couldn’t get it in the end. And that just makes us hungrier for the next one.”
After a lengthy lightning delay pushed the start time back more than an hour, Fort Lewis was the aggressor during the first half of a physical match. The Skyhawks (0-1-2) got off eight shots in the first half compared to four for the Rattlers (2-0-1), who couldn’t seem to find the energy needed to match the Skyhawks in the half.
“I thought we came out a little bit timid and had trouble catching our legs. I don’t think it was a very good first half for us – not typical of how we play,” St. Mary’s coach Matt Barnes said. “We made a couple adjustments at halftime and we were much better in the second half. It was a tale of two halves. I thought (the Skyhawks) were better in the first half and we were better in the second, so it was probably a fair point for both teams.”
Following a scoreless first half, Fort Lewis took a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute when the ball found the foot of Ty Lang after a corner kick and the sophomore midfielder poked it past the St. Mary’s keeper.
The Skyhawks held onto the 1-0 lead until the 85th minute when Pato Botello Faz played a cross into the box that Tommy Fogarty-Cameron headed past Fort Lewis keeper Peter Byrne for the St. Mary’s equalizer that sent the match to overtime.
“Heading into overtime, we were obviously bummed after conceding a goal with five minutes left, but we had to turn around and we did,” said Byrne, who made 12 saves in the match. “We came out with energy but just couldn’t get that final goal.”
St. Mary’s had the more threatening attack in the two overtimes and put three of its seven shots on goal. But Byrne took care of all three to keep the Skyhawks even and get one point out of the match.
Fort Lewis coach David Oberholtzer said he liked the improvement the Skyhawks showed from their first two matches of the season last weekend to the draw with St. Mary’s, but there is still work they need to do to be ready for Sunday when Fort Lewis will host No. 7 St. Edwards (2-0) at 11 a.m. at Dirks Field.
“We need to tighten up our lines so we’re not giving them so much space and make sure we’re the first to challenge everything,” Oberholtzer said. “I was happy with the way the guys reacted, but consistency is something we need to build on. We saw a lot of good things but in moments. We need to be able to work up to where we do that for 90 minutes, and I think we’re capable of that. I’m confident we’re going to get there.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
