An offensive explosion in the first half from one of the top teams in the country, not to mention the regular-season conference champion, was too much for the Skyhawks to keep up with Friday.
The Fort Lewis College women’s lacrosse team went on the road to face Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament host and top-seed Regis in the semifinal round of the tournament. Regis (13-1) would outscore the Skyhawks 15-2 in the first half en route to a 20-7 victory.
FLC ended the season with a 5-7 record and could be proud to reach the four-team conference tournament during a hectic spring.
It was the first full season for FLC under head coach Ashley Travis, who led the team going into 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the season cancellation.
“I think, as a super young program, this was an awesome place for us to get to in, technically, my first year coaching here,” Travis said in a team news release. “It was exciting to see our growth and for us to get to this point this year.
“We played hard today and played hard all season long. We're already looking forward to next season."
FLC had the game tied 1-1 on a goal from Liv Crawford assisted by Caprietta Abbadessa. But Regis would go on a 10-0 run before Ann Nelson scored FLC’s second goal of the first half with an assist from Ellie Martinez.
In the second half, FLC would get unassisted goals from Martinez, Abby Escandon, Abbadessa, Haley Dostie and Maren Clark.
It was the final game in an FLC uniform for seniors Escandon and Nelson.
Kyleigh Peoples had a huge game for Regis with four goals and four assists. Andrew Macalalad added three goals and two assists. Also with three goals each for Regis was Jessica Berg and Lucy Johnson.
"They're a really good team, move the ball really well and we just weren't coming up with any draw controls," Travis said. "I thought we played really great team defense and, in those first five minutes, we were ready to come out hard. We competed the whole game, and I'm proud of the girls for doing that against one of the country's best teams."
FLC goalkeeper Averi Basso played the entire match and made 12 saves. Elle Crawford was the winning goalie for Regis. She made one save and allowed five goals in 41:55 of action. Elizabeth Myotte made one save and allowed two goals in 18:05.
Regis advanced to the RMAC championship game where the Rangers will face second seed Colorado Mesa University. The Mavericks beat University of Colorado at Colorado Springs 15-13 in the other semifinal. The championship is scheduled for noon Sunday.
