In the span of two minutes, one player drastically changed the outlook of the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team’s season-opener on Friday at Dirks Field in Durango.
Valerie Solis scored two goals in 2 minutes, and it was enough to lift Angelo State past the Skyhawks, 3-0. While Fort Lewis’ back line did not concede a goal in the second half, the Belles were able to land all of the blows in a 20-minute span in the first half.
Despite being blanked, FLC head coach Damian Clarke was encouraged by his team’s performance. He said while it might take the first four games to figure out the best attacking combinations, there is plenty of promise moving forward.
“I think that we sometimes didn’t anticipate the long balls that we were playing that allowed to bounce, and, as an attacking player, you have to be champing at the bit,” Clarke said. “(Angelo State was) big and physical but also allowed some balls to bounce that if we were anticipating them correctly, it really would have put them under pressure. ... They’re creating the situations, but we’ve got to be able to be sharper when we create them.”
Trenadey Scott opened the scoring in the 13th minute, after she received a pass over the shoulder on the left flank and fired it just inside the 18-yard box to beat FLC senior goalie Britt Blomso, who got a hand on the shot but the ball bounced in.
Solis then scored twice in 2 minutes. Her first goal came just after the half-hour mark, after the Rams played tic-tac-toe, cutting open FLC’s defense. Avery McNeme slotted it over to Solis, who put it away into the right corner to make it 2-0. One minute later, Solis struck again, after a ball failed to be fully cleared away, and one quick pass later, Solis was able to dribble her way through FLC’s back line, around Blomso, and tapped it home to make it 3-0.
During the first half, Fort Lewis actually controlled the ball in the final third of the field more than Angelo did, but the latter made the most of its opportunities. The Skyhawks (0-1) created two corner kicks in the first half and also had a few free kick opportunities, one of the team’s strengths, but were unable to take advantage.
Angelo State head coach Travis McCorkle thought that with all eyes on Scott, the field opened up more for other players.
“I think a lot of teams want to get on Trenadey Scott, she’s a great athlete, and the more emphasis they put on her, we have some good new players and returners that can run off of her and create chances,” McCorkle said. “That’s what happened in the first half. Valerie found the openings, made some cuts and scored two good goals for us.”
At halftime, Clarke made a switch at goalkeeper, as freshman Katherine Dunbabin replaced Blomso, making her collegiate debut. She stopped two second-half shots.
The Skyhawks were able to create a few chances in the second half, with the high press playing a key part, as they caught the Belles on the break twice. But FLC was unable to find the back of the net. The team finished with 12 shots, six of which were on target, while the Belles (1-0) recorded 11 shots with six on frame.
“At the end of the day, all you’re looking for out of these first four games is whether or not you’ve got a team that’s going to fight,” Clarke said. “I would say I feel good about the fact that answered that.”
The Skyhawks will look for their first win of the season when they face Midwestern State University at 1 p.m. Sunday at Dirks Field.
The FLC men’s soccer team recorded its first win of the season with a convincing 2-0 win over Cal State East Bay in Salt Lake City.
The Skyhawks got goals from senior defender Ty Lang in the 24th minute, and redshirt junior forward Hakeem Rabiu wrapped it up with a tap-in rebound in the 87th minute.
In his first game back since 2017, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Peter Byrne stopped three shots. FLC outshot the Pioneers (0-1) 25-9.
Fort Lewis (1-0) will take on Hawaii Pacific University (0-0) at 11 a.m. Sunday in Salt Lake City.
bploen@ durangoherald.com
