Sometimes the bounces go one way, and sometimes they go another way, but for Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team they’ve been going the wrong way as of late. Sunday’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Final was more tough luck for the Skyhawks.
After controlling play for the majority of the contest and pushing the pace on the regular season RMAC champion Colorado School of Mines’ team, an unfortunate bounce did the Skyhawks in as they lost 1-0 to the Orediggers in Golden.
It is the fifth consecutive RMAC Tournament title for Colorado Mines (14-4-2).
Haley Cole’s goal in the 78th minute was the difference. The game winner came on a shot from outside the box that deflected off the head of Fort Lewis defender Dayli Schmieder and skipped past Skyhawks’ goalkeeper Caitlyn Espinosa.
FLC (12-5-3) outshot the Orediggers 11-7 in the match. Jordan Hix and Alicia Sanchez led the team with three shots each. The Skyhawks attempted seven corner kicks to only one for Colorado Mines.
“It was a great atmosphere and both teams played well today,” said Fort Lewis head coach Jimmy Hall in a postgame news conference. “That’s the beauty of soccer. You can do the right things over and over but it just takes something like a deflection to change the game.”
The Skyhawks did things right over and over Sunday, but they couldn’t grab the lead.
In the first half, FLC’s defense didn’t allow a shot on goal and the offense controlled possession for the majority of a very tightly played half.
The second half was the same story. The Skyhawks dominated possession, but the Orediggers’ defense thwarted the few opportunities they gave up.
With 13 minutes left in the scoreless match, Cole fired a shot that Espinosa was in position to stop. The ball deflected off Schmieder’s head, and the slight change of direction sent the ball to opposite side of the net. Espinosa had no chance to recover.
“I was moving toward the back post and it just took a late knick,” said Espinosa. “I couldn’t get back to where I was. It was unlucky, but we’ll be fine.”
Fort Lewis pushed hard to get the equalizer, but the Orediggers played tight defense down the stretch and completed the shutout.
After the match, FLC’s Hix, Shayla Malecki, Courtney Riley and Andra Thaden were named to the 2015 RMAC All-Tournament Team. Colorado Mines’ Acacia Ortiz, who assisted on Cole’s game winning goal, was named the tournament’s most valuable player.
As the tournament champion, Colorado Mines receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament while the Skyhawks will be forced to wait until the seedings are announced Monday afternoon to learn their fate.
jfries@durangoherald.com
