Despite leading in shots and corner kicks, the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team couldn’t beat the Simon Fraser Red Leafs on Thursday, falling to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference team 1-0 on a hot day in Grand Junction.
The Skyhawks fell to 1-1-2 overall with the loss, and the Red Leafs advanced to 3-1-0.
“They really pressed us and held us under the gun in the first half,” said Fort Lewis Head Coach David Oberholtzer. “I felt as though we bounced back well in the second half; however, an unfortunate call put us down a man and really limited our chance to create opportunities. Overall, it was a great challenge for us, and we’ll look to bounce back on Saturday.”
It was an uphill battle from the kickoff for the Skyhawks, who battled a Red Leafs defense that maintained possession on the FLC side of the pitch most of the game.
SFU struck in the 19th minute on a goal from Alan Camacho Soto with an assist from Devin O'Hea.
Fort Lewis edged Simon Fraser in total shots 13-12 but targeted only four on goal to the Red Leafs’ six.
Simon Fraser provided the Skyhawks some opportunities with 13 fouls and six corner kicks, but Fort Lewis College didn’t capitalize on them.
Tomas Duenes led Fort Lewis with three shots, including two on goal. Aymaro Vargas and Andres Hernandez provided two additional shots on goal. Camacho Soto led SFU with two shots on goal.
The Red Leafs and Justyn Sandhu collected their third consecutive shutout. Sandhu had four saves, and Evan Kowalski made five.
Next, Fort Lewis will play Montana State Billings at 4 p.m. Saturday, also in Grand Junction.
