Skyhawks men’s soccer coach David Oberholtzer knows what it takes to compete at the top of Division II men’s soccer with Fort Lewis. Oberholtzer played on the 2006 FLC team that went 21-2-1 and was the Division II runners-up. He was an assistant coach on the 2009 national championship team.
Now in his ninth season as the Skyhawks’ head coach, Oberholtzer has the talent and experience to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament toward the national title once again.
“We've got a really well-rounded group,” Oberholtzer said. “We're stronger than we were last year. We're definitely going to cause people some problems. From an attacking standpoint, we've got a really fun, exciting group that's good on the ball and can be really dangerous. We're going to score goals for sure and we've been placing more of an emphasis on making sure we're not conceding as many.”
FLC breezed through its preseason exhibitions and starts the season on Thursday evening in Texas at Lubbock Christian.
Oberholtzer said the preseason games were important to build some continuity and familiarity with the new and returning players on the team.
Last season, the Skyhawks went 12-5-4 and won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season championship. They went to the NCAA tournament and lost in the second round. It was only the second time FLC won 12 games since 2011.
One of the reasons the Skyhawks were so successful last season was because of the play of freshman phenom Anton Hjalmarsson. He scored 11 goals and 11 assists last year and was named the RMAC Player of the Year, RMAC Freshman of the Year and a Division II Second-Team All-American.
Now a sophomore, the 6-foot-1-inch 180-pound forward is back to lead the Skyhawks’ high-powered offense.
“He already came in as a mature player, even as a true freshman,” Oberholtzer said. “He came back where he left off, just strong and composed. He's stepped into more of a leadership role within our group as well, just having that year of experience under his belt. That may be the biggest part in terms of his growth, is stepping into that leadership role. He's going to take off right where he left and continue to be a menace.”
Also back for the Skyhawks are senior forwards Gabriel Legendre and Tomas Duenes. Legendre had 11 goals and an assist last year for FLC and Duenes had eight goals and nine assists.
Oberholtzer complimented Legendre on his work ethic and the consistency he brings to the team. Duenes’ defensive work rate has improved since last season and that has brought his game to another dimension. Oberholtzer said Duenes and Hjalmarsson’s relationship on the field has flourished after more time together.
Last year, the Skyhawks averaged 2.43 goals per game. FLC should be as or more potent offensively. One big loss the Skyhawks had was redshirt senior midfielder Loic Jean Baptiste. Oberholtzer and his staff knew they needed to focus on adding players to the play in the middle of the field, especially defensively.
Freshman midfielder Julián Rojas from Costa Rica should help with possession and defensively. Freshman forward Theo Bergman from Sweden at 6-3, 181 pounds should add depth at the forward position. Oberholtzer said Bergman can stretch the game with his athleticism, pace and size. Junior midfielder David Citron is another player who’s ready to step up with his creativity and passing.
On the defense, Oberholtzer is excited about the addition of junior defender Casey Stracher, a junior college transfer from Utah State University Eastern.
“He's going to be playing as an outside back for us. Could also serve as a center back at times, but just extremely athletic, really comfortable on the ball and able to cover a ton of ground really quickly,” Oberholtzer said. “He's somebody that's going to be flying up and down the wings for us. He’s really good in the air, and solid defensively but also going to cause some issues for teams just the way he can get forward.”
Key defensive players like senior Jakob Larson, junior Kaden Schufft and Thomas Kirkham are back. Last year’s starting goalkeeper sophomore Lucas Martin is back along with backup junior goalkeeper Aidan Hartman. Oberholtzer said both keepers are competing hard. He said the keys for the back line and the keepers are communication and continuing to understand each other better.
The Skyhawks were picked second in the RMAC behind national runner-up CSU Pueblo. Oberholtzer said it’s hard to predict how the RMAC will play out but he knows CSU Pueblo, Colorado Mesa and UCCS will be strong.
Oberholtzer isn’t too concerned with the rest of the conference. He wants his players to focus on what they’re doing.
Before RMAC play, the Skyhawks are playing some familiar nonconference opponents like Eastern New Mexico, Simon Fraser, Lubbock Christian, West Texas A&M and Montana State University Billings.
Oberholtzer hopes these familiar opponents can kick-start a season he hopes will end in a spot FLC soccer hasn’t seen in over a decade.
“Our goal is to be the top Division II program in the country, just flat out,” Oberholtzer said. “Last year was a great learning experience for us and a place where we hadn't been to in quite a while. From there, we all feel like we can do more and we can push on for greater things and that's the goal. So where that takes us we'll find out. But this is definitely a group that's capable of a lot of things.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
