Neither Fort Lewis College soccer team lost on Wednesday to end their regular season, but both teams missed an opportunity this week.
The Skyhawks men’s soccer team dominated Adams State for a 6-0 win on Wednesday afternoon. The Grizzlies are the worst team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, but the game had a different meaning because of FLC’s 3-1 loss at Regis on Sunday.
Before the Regis game, FLC still had the chance at a home RMAC tournament game if the Skyhawks could beat Regis and Adams State. After the Regis loss, FLC had to beat Adams State and then hope CSU Pueblo lost to University of Colorado Colorado Springs for FLC to have a chance to get into the RMAC tournament and fight for an NCAA tournament bid.
CSU Pueblo crushed UCCS on Wednesday night, leaving FLC out of the RMAC tournament field and ending the Skyhawks men’s soccer season.
The FLC women won their Sunday game, 3-0, against MSU Denver at home. If FLC could beat a Western Colorado team on Wednesday that came into the game 2-12-4 overall, the Skyhawks would get the No. 3 seed in the RMAC tournament.
FLC will have to settle for the No. 4 seed in the RMAC tournament after a 0-0 tie against Western Colorado. Fortunately for FLC and its fans, the Skyhawks will still host an RMAC tournament quarterfinal game on Sunday.
It was a season full of potential for the FLC men’s soccer team. After reaching the NCAA tournament quarterfinals last season, Skyhawks head coach David Oberholtzer thought this season’s team had the potential to go further with a young but talented offense. The defense was the problem for FLC all year after the Skyhawks lost three starters from the 2024 team. FLC struggled with its consistency defensively and only had three shutouts in 2025.
The Regis game was an example of the roller coaster ride the FLC defense was on. FLC played a solid first half on defense and the game was tied 0-0. The Skyhawks’ offense struck first in the 47th minute thanks to freshman midfielder Francisco Pinto. Then, Regis scored three goals in the final 34 minutes in a game FLC couldn’t afford to lose.
“We felt really comfortable and confident in the first half; we were in control the game,” Oberholtzer said. “We scored a good goal, then we had some mental errors and I don't think we competed well enough in the second half. It’s kind of been the story of our season. We've just given up some really soft goals. When you're doing that against good teams, it makes it hard to win games.”
After the Adams State win, the Skyhawks finished their season 9-4-4 overall and 5-3-2 in the RMAC. Adams State dropped to 1-15-1 overall and 0-10 in the RMAC.
FLC’s 5-3-2 conference was good for 17 points and seventh in the conference, just outside the top six that make the conference tournament. Colorado Mesa also finished with a 5-3-2 conference record and 17 points, but the Mavericks got into the conference tournament because they beat the Skyhawks, 4-1, on Oct. 12. Despite finishing seventh, FLC was only five points away from UCCS and MSU Denver’s 22 points to win the conference.
Senior defender Casey Stracher scored in the 25th minute against Adams State for a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Pinto scored the second goal in the 46th minute. Sophomore midfielder Fabrizio Aguilera scored in the 78th minute, Stracher scored his second in the 80th. Freshman forward Lorenz Guintini also scored in the 80th and Aguilera scored in the 81st minute for the sixth and final goal.
“We created a lot of opportunities,” Oberholtzer said. “We were a little unlucky to be only ahead 1-0 at the half. From the group, we needed a little bit more of a spark, kind of a killer instinct to kill the game off. The guys came out in the second half and were able to provide that and made the game a lot more comfortable.”
On paper, FLC should have an elite roster returning for next season. The Skyhawks should return their top-five point scorers in Guintini (13 goals, four assists), Andreottola (six goals, 17 assists), Pinto (six goals, six assists), freshman forward Yohann Fila (five goals, four assists) and Augilera (five goals, two assists). Goalkeeper Lucas Martin should return for his senior season along with defenders Mathias Valverde, Derek Rittmueller and Chase Larson.
However, it’s possible some of these players look for greener pastures at the Division I level with the transfer portal.
Unlike the men’s squad, the women’s team hasn’t dealt with a loss this week. The Skyhawks’ 3-0 home win over MSU Denver finished an undefeated regular season at home for FLC and it didn’t allow a single goal at home in the regular season. It’s the first undefeated regular season at home for the program since 2011.
“Metro was pretty good in the beginning of the second half,” FLC women’s soccer head coach Damian Clarke said. “There was a 20-25-minute spell where they did a really good job of pressing us and creating some problems. That (press) obviously left space behind them and even though maybe we had to take on some pressure to find goals two and three, we're able to do that.”
Junior defender Amber Otts had one of the goals of the year, according to Clarke, to start the scoring in the first half for FLC. She took her space up the middle, fired a shot from about 25 yards out that kissed the crossbar before hitting the net.
Senior forward Anna Tucker found the back of the net in the 77th minute for the 2-0 lead for FLC. Freshman goalkeeper Trinity Lujan hit a booming punt that bounced to junior forward Jenna Salazar, who headed it into open space for Tucker. The senior forward tracked it down and dribbled past the keeper for the easy finish.
Fellow senior forward Abigail Nkrumah scored the third goal in the 80th minute off a nice feed from Salazar.
Unfortunately for FLC supporters, the Skyhawks’ scoring couldn’t be found in Wednesday’s game against Western Colorado. Despite outshooting the Mountaineers 31-8 with a 10-3 shots on goal advantage, FLC left Gunnison with a 0-0 tie.
“I’m not feeling good,” Clarke said. “It was definitely frustrating. It’s that simple. It’s really frustrating that we didn’t turn the game over at some point.”
Clarke said his team missed some good chances early in the game. The Skyhawks aren’t nearly as good in front of goal as they need to be, according to Clarke. He thought FLC needed to move in closer and stop trying to score from 20-25 yards out against a good goalkeeper.
FLC finished the regular season 10-4-3 overall and 7-2-2 in the RMAC. It’s FLC women’s soccer’s first 10-win regular season since 2015. The Skyhawks finished fourth in the conference and will host fifth-seeded Regis in the RMAC tournament quarterfinals on Sunday at 1 p.m. FLC won at Regis, 1-0, on Oct. 26.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
