Regis freshman Jada Bonner cradled the ball in her stick, standing at the edge of the eight-meter arc, staring down Fort Lewis College freshman goalkeeper Ally Guerrero.
Their women’s lacrosse teams were tied at 10 with 3 minutes, 5 seconds remaining Friday at Ray Dennison Memorial Field on FLC’s campus.
“My mind just kind of goes blank,” Guerrero said. “There can’t be anything on your mind when that happens.”
Bonner took two steps and ripped a shot past Guerrero to seal an 11-10 win for the Rangers. It was her third goal of the game and 11th of the season for No. 12 Regis (10-4, 5-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference).
“My teammates really gave me confidence to shoot the ball,” Bonner said. “I was checking my surroundings to see who was available for the pass but decided it was best to take the shot.”
FLC (7-4, 3-2 RMAC) still had several chances to tie the game in the last three minutes but couldn’t capitalize. The Skyhawks turned the ball over on their last possession, and the Rangers held on to the ball until the clock showed zeroes.
“We made a couple turnovers there at the end that really cost us,” FLC head coach Julia Decker said. “Some nerves at the end caused those turnovers.”
The Skyhawks took early leads of 2-1 and 4-3 on goals by freshman Taylor Cabrera, who finished with three in the game.
“It showed that we can play with them, and we have the ability to keep up and even pull ahead,” Cabrera said.
Regis retook the lead both times and carried a 7-6 advantage into halftime.
It would have been a two-goal lead if Emily Behr had connected on a shot at the first half buzzer that sailed wide after a long clearing pass.
Rebecca Miller scored the first goal of the second half with 24:38 left in the game to tie it at 7 before Regis re-established its lead.
The Skyhawks kept chipping away, and Nikki Fry tied the game at 10 with a free position shot with 3:58 left.
“I never felt like we were behind in this game,” Decker said. “It felt pretty even the whole way.”
Regis just executed better in the last three minutes.
The Skyhawks now will turn their attention to CSU-Pueblo, a first-year program FLC defeated 15-7 in Pueblo earlier this year, at 1 p.m. Sunday at Ray Dennison Memorial Field. They only have two games remaining in the regular season, both at home, and FLC can secure the No. 3 seed in the RMAC tournament by winning out.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing these guys again in the conference tournament,” Decker said.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
