After Friday’s grueling 110-minute draw against Colorado Mines, the Skyhawks had little time for rest.
Less than 48 hours later, Fort Lewis was back on the pitch at Dirks Field, and it looked like the men had a week’s worth of rest.
The Skyhawks (10-3-1, 5-1-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) cruised to a dominant 4-1 victory against Colorado Christian (1-12-1, 1-7-1 RMAC) Sunday afternoon in which they outshot the opponents 29-12. The win was head coach Oige Kennedy’s 100th at Fort Lewis College.
Yannis Becker had two goals to lead the Fort Lewis attack. Tamino Kroeger and Martin Lopez each added one goal, and freshman Laurin Weiland had two assists.
“After a game like Mines, we were a bit tired, but we told ourselves to come out and just fly,” Becker said. “We wanted to score some early goals and make it easier for us.”
If scoring early goals was the game plan, the Skyhawks executed it perfectly.
In the 19th minute, Kroeger started the scoring with a rocket from 20 yards out to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead.
Less than five minutes later, Weiland found Becker with a beautiful pass that set up a chance from point-blank range. Becker finished with a header into the top-right corner to give Fort Lewis a 2-0 advantage.
“The ball Laurin played to Yannis was just a special pass,” Kennedy said. “Those two are starting to really work well together, and they looked good in there (Sunday).”
Becker’s second goal of the afternoon came in the 31st minute after Zac Lawrence’s shot was stopped by Cougars’ goalkeeper Brandon Eide, and Becker was there to clean up the rebound.
Eide was the lone bright spot for Colorado Christian. He faced relentless pressure most of the day but did a respectable job allowing only four goals. He had ten saves and saw 29 shots sail in his direction.
The Cougars managed to get a shot passed Fort Lewis senior goalkeeper Ryan Schaul, who started the game because Kennedy felt freshman Elliot Chadderton needed a rest. Schaul made three saves on the day.
Martin Lopez added a goal in the 79th minute, and the packed Dirks Field crowd began to stir knowing Kennedy’s 100th win was about to be a reality.
As time expired, the FLC faithful chanted “Oige, Oige,” as Kennedy was presented with the game ball.
“I think it speaks more to the kids I’ve been lucky enough to coach here,” Kennedy said. “I’ve been surrounded by so many fantastic people in this community, many who are here (Sunday). The way I see it, we need four more regular wins, two in the RMAC tournament and five in the national tournament, so let’s go for 111.”
Fort Lewis will get another crack at Colorado Mines at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Golden. The Orediggers clinched the RMAC regular season championship Sunday with a win against Adams State.
jfries@durangoherald.com
