The field for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s soccer tournament is set, though only one seed has been finalized.
Fort Lewis College guaranteed itself a spot in the RMAC tournament with a 2-1 overtime win at Metro State on Sunday afternoon in Denver. Six teams make the postseason tournament, and four teams all stand tied with 21 points with 7-5 conference records. Fort Lewis joined Colorado Mines (9-6, 7-4 RMAC), Metro State (10-5, 7-5 RMAC), and UC-Colorado Springs (8-7-1, 7-5 RMAC), and all four teams have a chance of earning anywhere between a No. 2 seed and a No. 6 seed. Currently, Regis is in second with 24 points and an 8-3 RMAC record, and Colorado Mesa is in firm control of the top-seed with an 11-1 conference record.
With everything so close with only two games left in the schedule, Sunday’s win was a massive result for the FLC Skyhawks.
“It’s huge. For us, now that we’re in, it is about trying to get going and figure out the highest possible seed for postseason play,” FLC head coach Oige Kennedy said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald.
FLC went down 1-0 early Sunday when Jeff Gillis got his head on a crossing pass from Danny Arrubla. It was Gillis’ third goal of the season for Metro State,
But it didn’t take long for FLC to equalize, as star midfielder Yannis Becker took one touch on a crossing pass from Maik Brandt to put the ball in the back of the net past Roadrunners’ goalkeeper James Tanner.
“We really didn’t deserve to go behind, but we did, and I was pleased with our reaction,” Kennedy said. “The guys stayed positive, and we kept working, and we controlled the game and possession more than we had all season.”
The game remained tied through the end of regulation, but 1 minute, 38 seconds into overtime, Luke Lawrence scored the game-winning goal, his fifth goal of the season.
“We stole the ball when they were attacking, and we countered,” Kennedy said. “Elliot (Prost) broke out and beat his player, and he sent a chip pass to Luke. Luke made an excellent run and scored. Luke played his best game and looked great.”
The Skyhawks needed a great game from Becker, Lawrence and the rest of the squad, as Brandt left with an injury and FLC already without Austin Derksen and Tamino Kroeger because of injuries.
Those injuries all come as a big blow, as FLC was hoping to stay healthy with the return of preseason all-conference player Alberto Capdepon to the lineup.
“It’s tough. We’re going to ask (Becker) and Lawrence to play a lot of minutes. Missing Austin and Tamino is difficult, but the whole group is working hard and working together to overcome it,” Kennedy said.
FLC will play its fourth consecutive road game at 7 p.m. Friday at Colorado Mines. The Skyhawks will finish the regular season at home at 1 p.m. Sunday against Colorado Christian.
“The Mines and Christian games will be huge,” Kennedy said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
