In a match that had major implications in the regional rankings and postseason play, a surprising and untimely flat performance from the No. 24 Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team came at the wrong time.
Fort Lewis head coach Oige Kennedy recognized it early. In the opening minutes of Friday’s matchup with Metropolitan State University of Denver, he pled for his boys to show urgency and flip the switch. However, the Skyhawks (11-4-2, 6-2-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) were never able to recover from the slow start and lost a heartbreaker to the Roadrunners 2-1.
Tamino Kroeger scored the lone goal for the Skyhawks. Fort Lewis was outshot 15-12 and gave up seven corners to Metro State while attempting only one.
“It wasn’t our day, and it’s hard to keep our heads up,” said senior Zac Lawrence. “We worked hard, but I think there were some nerves out there, and we were a bit shy. Sometimes you feel those nerves and great things happen, and other times they get the best of you. (Friday), they got the best of us.”
The match got off to a rough start for the home team. Nine minutes in, Skyhawks defender Malik Badawi was called for a foul to the right of Fort Lewis goalkeeper Elliot Chadderton. The questionable call happened shortly after a no-call at the other end of the field and setup a penalty kick that was converted by Metro State’s Josh Belfrage to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
As if the early goal wasn’t enough to rattle the Skyhawks, starting forward Raul Pescador had to leave the game with a leg injury and never returned. The Skyhawks were already shorthanded, as Kroeger wasn’t on the pitch in the first half because of another ailment.
After loosening up at halftime, Kroeger gutted it out and took the field to start the second half. The inspirational and physical leader of the Skyhawks made an instant impact.
Less than a minute into the half, Lawrence put a beautiful ball into the box right on Kroeger’s foot, and the junior forward hammered it in for the equalizer.
Kroeger’s immediate contribution was a much needed boost to start the half, but it didn’t last.
“At the point when it was 1-1 is when we needed to increase our level of intensity, and some of the guys just weren’t up for the fight,” Kennedy said.
In the 55th minute, after some quality chances, Roadrunners’ forward Jeff Gillis took a cross and slipped it past Chadderton for what was ultimately the decisive strike.
As time ticked away, chances for Fort Lewis were few and far between. Yannis Becker missed a free kick barely wide left, but, other than that, the Roadrunners (12-3-2, 7-2 RMAC) possessed the ball with ease and ran out the clock with little opposition from the Skyhawks.
Fort Lewis entered the match ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II South Central Region, and the Roadrunners were sixth. Metro State jumped FLC in the conference and regional standings with the win.
“We were playing for second place in the conference and for a national tournament berth,” Kennedy said. “It was disappointing because I felt that we shied away from the game (Friday), and that’s part of the learning curve with this young group. They’ve got to learn how to take on the big games.”
Another big match against UC-Colorado Springs awaits the Skyhawks on Sunday to close the regular season.
jfries@durangoherald.com
