The Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team has had a good two-year run with trips to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament. The Skyhawks’ return to the NCAA tournament could come down to how well their offseason acquisitions contribute.
Skyhawks women’s soccer has won nine games in each of the last two seasons. Last season, FLC went on an incredible run in the RMAC tournament, with two penalty shootout wins before losing to Division II’s top team, Colorado School of Mines, 1-0 in the RMAC championship game.
FLC brings in 10 freshmen to support the 18 returning players with the Skyhawks’ first game on Sept. 4.
“I'm excited about the class for sure,” FLC head coach Damian Clarke said. “At the end of the day, you don't know until you see them, you get them here and figure out how fit, how much work did they do, how much did they suffer before they got here, to be prepared. But in terms of just talent as a whole, we're super excited about what we're bringing. There are big shoes to fill in the senior class that left.”
Two of the most important freshmen will be the two goalkeepers Clarke and his staff brought in. The Skyhawks lost fifth-year goalkeeper Riley Bravin and fifth-year goalkeeper Katlyn Rosenbaum as both players ran out of eligibility. The two veteran goalkeepers split time the last two seasons.
Freshmen goalkeepers Lilliana Brinkmeier and Trinity Lujan will battle for the starting job this fall.
Brinkmeier, a 5-foot-8-inch freshman from Sandpoint, Idaho, comes from a small town like Durango that has produced a lot of good athletes, according to Clarke. Brinkmeier comes from an athletic family as her father played goalkeeper and is a high school coach.
The FLC freshman spent a lot of time playing high-level soccer in Spokane, Washington, and is an athletic shot stopper, according to Clarke.
Lujan is a 5-foot-8-inch freshman from Gilbert, Arizona, who could’ve looked to play at Division I schools but chose to play at FLC because of its better fit, according to Clarke.
“We've had a ton of kids from Gilbert,” Clarke said. “Some of the best teams we've ever had have been kids from Gilbert and Chandler. We've had a lot of fortune with getting kids from the Phoenix metropolitan area. Trinity is legit; she's a kid that has a sibling that played at Kansas, a sibling that played at NAU and a really athletic family as a whole. She's coming from a really high level club in Phoenix … We're pretty fortunate to get her.”
Clarke is excited about his foreign freshmen who he thinks can contribute right away. Molly Widmark, a 5-foot-3-inch forward from Falun, Sweden, is a wide attacking player and is a winner, according to Clarke. Lova Sjölund is a 5-foot-8-inch midfielder from Täby, Sweden, who Clarke thinks can compliment junior midfielder Ann Spence and replace some of the production the team loss with Gabi Meraz-Fishbein’s graduation.
The third foreign freshman is 5-foot-9-inch forward Isla Witham, from Sydney, Australia. Clarke thinks she’ll do well at the center forward position and she has the versatility to play outside.
Clarke believes all three foreign freshmen will be ready to contribute because they have been playing against women back home.
Finding foreign players who can contribute can be tough because there’s an app all the agencies are on that are trying to get their players over to the U.S. It takes time to develop a rapport with an agent and find one that responds in a timely matter, according to Clarke.
“I've been trying for a couple years to try and find the right fit with foreign kids,” Clarke said. “We've made some effort, probably for the last three years, and had some kids say no. The same agent we've been using, she played Division II at Bridgeport (Connecticut) … She was a Swedish kid that played D2 so she's got a really good idea of the level that we need. So the most important thing is finding an agent that has played at the level and has an idea of what it's like.”
Clarke is also excited about his American freshmen. Cadence Smith, a 5-foot-6-inch defender out of San Diego, is an athletic, taller player who can run things down in the back. Tristen Fought, a 5-foot-7-inch midfielder from McKinney, Texas, is coming off a knee injury, but turned down Division I schools to go to FLC. Clarke thinks she can be a difference maker once she’s fit and healthy.
The Skyhawks are bringing in two freshmen from the region. Addyson Carpentier, a 5-foot-4-inch defender from Albuquerque, has a toughness Clarke has seen from other Albuquerque players and is a technically sound player.
Defender Adde Neiman graduated from Durango High School in 2024, after playing soccer and basketball for the Demons, and is listed as a freshman on the Skyhawks’ roster. Clarke complimented her on her play in the spring and said she has a very good understanding of the system and how FLC communicates. Clarke said she’s a very good culture piece for the Skyhawks.
The Skyhawks open their season at home against St. Mary’s University on Sept. 4 at 7 p.m.
This article is part of The Durango Herald’s Offseason Acquisitions series. The first part was on the FLC men’s soccer team, followed by the FLC football team. Be on the lookout for a FLC women’s soccer season preview in a few weeks.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
