If a team can gain confidence in a loss, that is exactly what the Fort Lewis College women’s lacrosse team did Saturday.
Facing No. 13 Lindenwood – the preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champions – at home at Ray Dennison Memorial Field, the FLC Skyhawks matched the Lions every step of the game. But it wasn’t quite enough, as Lindenwood (7-2, 2-0 RMAC) held on to take a 7-6 win against the Skyhawks (5-2, 2-1 RMAC).
“(Saturday) was the best game I have ever seen any team that I’ve coached play,” FLC head coach Kelsey MacDonald said. “We went out there and gave 100 percent. Everyone was hustling their butts off. It was amazing to watch.”
FLC controlled the tempo in the opening 15 minutes of the first half. Goals from Ellie Carpenter and Ally Kvidera helped the Skyhawks establish a 2-0 lead.
The Lions roared back with four unanswered goals from Erin Abbott, Kara Wendell and two from Melissa Smith.
But it was the Skyhawks who surged in the final minutes of the first half when Jam Vertner scored on a beautiful goal after a slick pass by Marissa DiCecco, who had two assists in the game. Carpenter then scored with only 9 seconds remaining in the first half to tie the game 4-4.
Lindenwood won the ensuing faceoff and stormed down the field. The Lions found the back of the net with a shot, but it came one second too late as the referees wiped out the goal, sending the teams to intermission.
“To me, we won the first half. Even though it was tied, I felt like we won,” FLC goalie Alyssa Spencer said. “It was an amazing feeling.”
FLC executed its game plan to perfection in the first half. The plan was to control possession on offense and let time run off the clock, while playing tough man-to-man defense on the other end of the field.
“We stuck to our game plan, which was to score, but mostly to take time off the clock. We know Lindenwood is a team that, when they have the ball in their sticks, is good at scoring,” MacDonald said. “The tempo we were setting was possess the ball, score if you can, and hang onto it.”
It didn’t take the Lions long to score in the second half, as Jordyn Constance scored 32 seconds after the faceoff. Spencer made a few big saves to limit more damage, and a Lions goal was called back when Shelby Polk was whistled for a penalty and a yellow card.
FLC tied the game again at 5-5 when DiCecco scored her eighth goal of the season off an assist by Kathryn Dunn, but Lindenwood’s Melissa Menchella scored with 14 minutes, 39 seconds left in the game before Constance tacked on her second goal of the game a minute later to give the Lions a 7-5 advantage.
Two minutes later, the Skyhawks scored their final goal of the game when Brook Wineland found the back of the net for her eighth goal of the season.
FLC possessed the ball for a long stretch in the final 10 minutes of the game, but a costly turnover gave the ball back to Lindenwood with just more than three minutes to play. The Lions kept the ball away from FLC the remainder of the game to pick up the 7-6 win.
“Fort Lewis played great against us. Coach MacDonald and the rest of the Skyhawks deserve a lot of credit,” said Lindenwood head coach Jack Cribbin, who coached the Lions to the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association championship last year. “They really came to battle and gave us a tough test.
“Anytime you can win on the road, especially in a conference game, it helps and means a lot to us. When it comes to conference games, you throw national rankings, stats and records out the window, and it was definitely a tough test.”
Lindenwood goalie Christin Hehmeyer made three saves in the game, while Spencer made six for FLC.
“They were portrayed as like the best in our league. I was scared, but when we came out, I was like ‘Wow, they are just lacrosse players as I am,’” said Spencer, a Durango High School alumna. “I felt amazing, and I think I made (Lindenwood) play better, too.”
The 7-6 loss was the closest finish FLC has had in a game with Lindenwood yet. The Lions from St. Charles, Mo., beat FLC 19-10 and 19-8 in 2013 and 20-9 and 20-15 in 2012.
“We always want to play up to a team’s level that is that good. We played them twice the last few years, and it just makes you want to play better,” FLC senior attacker Kylie Smith said. “We knew we could play up to their level but haven’t been able to prove ourselves in the past. We knew this year was our time.”
Competition won’t be any easier in the next game the Skyhawks play, either. FLC will travel to face No. 7 Florida Southern College at 5 p.m. Monday in Lakeland, Fla. FLC will continue its Florida road trip with a game at Saint Leo University at 2 p.m. Thursday in Saint Leo, Fla.
“(This game) is going to give them a lot of confidence,” MacDonald said of her team. “I told the girls after the game, ‘Okay, we can’t upset No. 13, but let’s go upset No. 7.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
