The Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team fought valiantly in the second half against Metropolitan State University-Denver on Sunday, but the Skyhawks came up short in a 1-0 loss.
Roadrunners’ senior forward Bry Sanchez scored in the 77th minute to break a 0-0 deadlock that lifted Metro State (5-6-2, 4-2-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) past Fort Lewis.
The Skyhawks (3-5-2, 2-3-2 RMAC) created a number of set piece opportunities in the second half, but ultimately were unable to find the back of the net. Head coach Damian Clarke was still proud of his side’s fight.
“I think we honestly grew a bunch this weekend despite the results,” Clarke said. “I think at the end of the day, the defending in this game was obviously much better than Friday’s against UCCS. The attacking piece is beginning to be more dangerous. Usually, the set pieces are things where we’re a bit more fortunate to get right. Really, I can’t complain, and the effort from these kids has been phenomenal.”
The Skyhawks’ best opportunity came in the 75th minute, when Katie Smith hit the crossbar. Smith had another good chance moments before off of a set piece, but her header was saved by Metro’s goalkeeper Erica Torres. With just over two minutes remaining in the match and the Skyhawks searching for an equalizer, Emma Patron’s shot was wide left.
Clarke believes that Fort Lewis will find a way past a tough weekend set of results, including a 5-0 loss to No. 1 University of Colorado-Colorado Springs on Friday.
“These kids aren’t going to stop fighting,” Clarke said. “The results are guide posts. That’s sort of how we look at it. We’re on the right road, and sometimes you hit a guide post here and there, and you keep gong.”
The Skyhawks will host Westminster (5-3-2, 2-3-1 RMAC) at 3 p.m. Friday.
Men’s soccer
Men’s soccerThe Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team dropped its third consecutive game on Sunday afternoon, as the Skyhawks fell 1-0 to Regis University in Denver.
Regis (7-4-1, 6-2 RMAC) opened the scoring when Parker Klein tallied the lone goal in the 16th minute. He received a pass from Pascal von Matthey, and was able to beat Fort Lewis goalkeeper Peter Byrne on a low-driven shot that was placed into the bottom left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
The Skyhawks (6-3-3, 4-3-1 RMAC) managed just one shot in the half, an attempt from Brantley Bice in the 23rd minute that was partially blocked.
FLC’s defense held firm after conceding the goal, as the Skyhawks faced 22 shots, including seven in the second half, but Byrne made a number of good saves to keep the match at 1-0.
With a last-minute push from the Skyhawks, Hakeem Rabiu’s shot from beyond the 18-yard box was saved by Rangers’ goalkeeper Tim Dolan. Marshall Metzger had one last look on net in the 89th minute off of a corner kick, but his shot was also saved by Dolan.
Byrne finished with eight saves in the loss.
Skyhawks head coach David Oberholtzer said he didn’t see his team’s desire to compete from the opening whistle.
“We just didn’t show up to compete from the start, and if you don’t show up to compete, you’re not ready to win,” Oberholtzer said. “I think if we’re not ready to compete, you can toss the tactics, stats and everything else out the window. I think our confidence has been knocked over the course of the last three games, and collectively, we didn’t make the choice to compete.”
Fort Lewis will return to campus for a week of practice before traveling for the remaining two games of a four-game road trip next weekend. Fort Lewis will play Dixie State (6-5-1. 5-3 RMAC) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in St. George, Utah. The Trailblazers beat Fort Lewis 4-1 on Oct. 6 at Dirks Field.
“I think we need to regroup and get back to playing our brand of soccer,” Oberholtzer said. “The ability and quality of the group is there, we just need to show much better fight and heart starting at practice tomorrow.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
