Patience is something the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team has had to have plenty of lately.
The Skyhawks have had two games in the span of a week postponed because of weather and had an earlier home game delayed because of lightning. As such, they will play four games this week.
On Monday, however, FLC finally got to showcase its patience on the field.
The No. 22 Skyhawks dominated possession and didn’t get flustered by a a few early scoring chances that went awry in a 2-0 victory over Colorado Christian in FLC’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener at Dirks Field.
Fort Lewis (4-0-1, 1-0-0 RMAC) established its possession game from the outset, creating a couple decent scoring chances in the game’s first six minutes. The Skyhawks continued to pile up chances but just couldn’t find the breakthrough, even from the penalty spot as Alberto Capdepon was denied on a penalty kick by a great save from Brandon Eide in the 36th minute.
“They really forced the tempo of the whole game, which was great to see,” FLC head coach Oige Kennedy said.
“You start thinking is it going to be one of those days where it’s going to take something special to open them up, and that strike from Capo was definitely a special goal.”
The breakthrough, however, seemed inevitable after FLC racked up an 8-0 edge in shots in the first half as part of a 27-2 advantage for the game.
The Skyhawks finally got on the board in the 50th minute. Capdepon took a flick from Brandon Dooley and hit a rocket of a shot from about 20 yards out that tucked into the side netting for a 1-0 FLC lead.
“I missed a penalty, so this was my redemption goal,” Capdepon said with a laugh.
The onslaught didn’t let up from there as Fort Lewis continued to fire away, forcing Eide to make nine total saves. Fort Lewis found a second goal in the 73rd minute to ice the contest. Jordan Alexander’s cross skipped and found its way to Zac Lawrence, who didn’t miss from close range at the left side of the penalty area to give FLC an insurmountable 2-0 lead on the Cougars (1-5-0, 0-2-1 RMAC).
Monday at 11 a.m. isn’t exactly the easiest time to play a game, with RMAC teams typically accustomed to their usual Friday-Sunday schedule by this point in the season. That said, FLC opened a potentially taxing week with a dominant performance. The weather Sunday forced the postponement from Sunday, and the Skyhawks will face Adams State at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Dirks Field before traveling to face UC-Colorado Springs on Friday and Regis on Sunday.
“We always are ready to compete. ... No matter how many games we have, we try to give 100 percent every game, every time we get on the field, and that’s what we did, pretty much,” Capdepon said.
Fort Lewis also managed to find a way without three key players in the lineup. Defender Johannes Sander and midfielder Yannis Becker were joined on the bench by goalkeeper Ryan Schaul, the latest addition to the list of FLC’s walking wounded. Kennedy said all three are “day-to-day” at this point.
Ryan Pakieser didn’t have to make a stop to earn his first clean sheet as a Skyhawk, and Dooley picked up an assist in place of Becker.
“What’s great to see is the guys that have been given that chance now are taking their opportunity,” Kennedy said.
rowens @durangoherald.com
Fort Lewis to play two Wednesday
The Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team will make up its game against New Mexico Highlands at noon Wednesday at Dirks Field as part of a women’s-men’s doubleheader.
No. 7 FLC led the Cowgirls 4-0 in the 68th minute Sunday when the game was called off because of weather delays and poor field conditions. A game must go 70 minutes or more to be considered complete, and none of the stats from Sunday’s game will count. Wednesday’s contest will be a full 90 minutes and start 0-0.
After the women’s game, the men’s soccer team will face Adams State at 3 p.m. after FLC and the Grizzlies had their game suspended last week with 27 minutes, 51 seconds to play. The makeup date originally was scheduled for Tuesday but was pushed back after FLC’s game with Colorado Christian was moved to Monday after Sunday’s poor weather.
heraldsports @durangoherald.com
