Fort Lewis soccer fans should be excited about this fall. The men’s team is returning a strong nucleus from last year’s team which made the second round of the Division II NCAA tournament. The women’s team is returning an even stronger nucleus with only one key contributor who left.
The Durango Herald is looking at the new additions FLC fall teams have brought in with fall sports starting soon. Take a look at the previous additions of this series with men’s soccer and football.
In 2022, the Skyhawks women’s soccer team finished 6-11-2 overall and 5-6-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play. Last year, FLC made a big step forward and finished 9-4-6 overall and 5-3-4 in the RMAC.
This season, the Skyhawks return 17 of 18 players who had points in a match last season. The lone player not returning is Aubrey Swindle. She finished with a team-high 11 points from four goals and three assists. Swindle is taking her fifth year at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
“We're super excited,” FLC women’s soccer head coach Damian Clarke said. “The stability of what we've built on over the last three years is all going to be there.”
Clarke brought in a small recruiting class because of all the returning talent, including both fifth-year goalkeepers, Riley Bravin and Katlyn Rosenbaum, who split time last year and starting defender Rachel Peebles.
The Skyhawks will have five freshmen and three new transfers. Clarke said his best teams have been filled with four-year players. He’s had some success with transfers but there are also ones who don’t work out. Clarke has had transfers that have worked out but they were only there for one year. He values the four-year players and the relationship the team gets to build with the stability a roster full of four-year players brings.
Clarke knows his team is good on the ball and had most of the possession last year. He also knows his decision-makers are the key to getting FLC to the next level.
Last season, the Skyhawks struggled to score at times and averaged 1.3 goals per game in the RMAC. He hopes this year’s team can improve in the attacking third with the mix of returners and new players.
Clarke said he first recruited players based more on their athleticism and then once he had that on his squad, he started prioritizing decision-makers.
“When I first got back here, I had to get athletic kids to even be close to the ball and compete,” Clarke said. “Hence, Aubrey Swindle. You look at our group now, athletically, we're excellent. Decision making, when did we start to go after a decision-making kid and someone that could really allow us to play how we want? You look at (Gabi Meraz) Fishbein. She’s a kid that’s going to pull the strings and be one of the smartest if not the smartest kid on the field with her passing decisions.”
This fall FLC will have two freshmen from Colorado. Mia Duncan is a midfielder from Montrose who plays in the middle of the field and is a good decision-maker. Clarke said he saw a similar blue-collar attitude in Duncan that he saw in junior forward Josie Coulter who is also from Montrose. He recognizes Montrose High School develops good players and he likes getting some local kids.
Freshman defender Kalin Gudewicz comes from Heritage High School out of Morrison, Colorado and comes from a soccer family with her mom Kia being the head coach at Heritage High School. Clarke likes the depth Gudewicz brings to his back line and knows she’s in a great position to play a significant role next year with FLC graduating a few defenders.
Clarke is bringing in one freshman goalie and that is Conner Ansboro. The 5-foot-10-inch freshman from Little Elm, Texas has a great opportunity to develop and learn behind Bravin and Rosenbaum.
“So for her, she gets mentored by two absolutely fantastic goalkeepers that are two different types of kids,” Clarke said about Ansboro. “Those two are completely different communicators, completely different types of players. So more than likely, she gravitates toward one style or the other and really has a chance to grow into a great opportunity in her sophomore year.”
The two other freshmen aren’t from too far away. Forward/midfielder Kiana Johnson is from Rio Rancho, New Mexico and midfielder Electra Westum is from Goodyear, Arizona.
Clarke compared Johnson’s athleticism to FLC forward Abila Tapia. Clarke thinks Johnson can give the Skyhawks some depth with her pace and size.
“All of these Albuquerque kids, we know we're going to get,” Clarke said. “They're tough, they’re technically sound. For us, if we can get a tough technically sound wide player that's also quite athletic, then we've got a little bit more depth in those spots than most teams we play against.”
Originally from Norway, Clarke described Westum as a very dedicated and disciplined athlete. He thinks she can hit a ball 60-70 yards which is different from most of the girls on the roster.
Junior forward Abigail Nkrumah played at Arizona Western College but is from Ghana. Clarke expects her to be very comfortable on the ball and she can head the ball well.
Renee Junna is a transfer who played at Tyler Junior College. The junior is from Australia. Clarke likes her combination play and how she can hold the ball with her creativity to wait for other players.
Elise Bosanko, the sister of FLC men’s soccer player Quinn Bosanko, is joining the women’s team as a sophomore transfer from Shaw University. Clarke said she’s similar to her older brother with her aggressiveness in tackles, her energy and she’s a very disciplined athlete.
Clarke said Skyhawks fans should expect new players on the back line, specifically the center back position and the front line.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
