417 minutes, 4 seconds – and counting.
It’s not a record – not yet anyway – but it’s a heck of a start. That’s how long it’s been since the Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team has conceded a goal.
The shutout streak has encompassed all four games this season and is a huge reason why the previously unranked Skyhawks are 4-0 and ranked No. 7 nationally this week.
The defense has held twice to allow for a pair of 1-0 victories in double overtime, and it’ll try to keep marching toward the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record of nine consecutive shutouts, set by Metro State in 2004, and the national record of 15 set by Franklin Pierce in 1996 when Regis, the last team to score on the Skyhawks, comes to town for FLC’s home and RMAC opener Friday.
“People on campus even recognize it and talk to you about it, and it’s kind of exciting to be a part of not only individually but as a team,” senior center back Lauren Riley said.
Continuity is key. Starters Ashley Kniffen and Nicole Schumacher returned this year after missing all of 2012 with injuries, but the pair of outside defenders were key contributors on defense before the injuries, so their returns have been mostly seamless.
At center back, Riley and Madyson Wellcome have been staples since they stepped foot on campus in 2010. Riley has appeared in all 69 games FLC has played since her career began, starting 66 times. Wellcome has appeared 65 times and started 61 of those appearances.
“I think you look at it now, it’s like all four of the kids that played together lots of 2010 and quite a bit in 2011 before we had both Schumacher and Ashley out because of injury,” Clarke said.
Riley and Wellcome have been paired together for so long on the field that it’d be more of a shock if they weren’t friends off it. At this point, it’s hard not to picture them next to each other at the heart of the FLC defense, a reality Clarke soon will have to deal with as the seniors wrap their careers. They compliment each other so well that they even play off what the other says in interviews.
“We work for each other. That’s our thing this year,” Wellcome said. “I’ll work for you, you work for me-type of thing. ... We know each other’s strengths, each other’s weaknesses. ... We can just tell.”
“Madyson heads the ball, I’ll run,” Riley said with a grin.
Not to be lost in the shuffle, goalkeeper Caitlyn Espinosa is as big a reason as any for the shutout streak. The sophomore had to beat out incumbent Amanda Raso for the job, and she’s proven more than capable early on, stopping 19 shots and earning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for her work in wins last weekend over Angelo State and Texas-Permian Basin.
“I’m so proud of her, personally. She’s really shown up,” Wellcome said.
“Great hands, obviously the size of her is a lot to deal with. She’s formidable,” Clarke said.
Shutouts are a more macro goal. During the course of the game, Riley said the Skyhawks focus more on the micro, trying to string together smaller chunks of goal-free soccer in the hopes that those segments eventually add up to another clean sheet.
It’s hard to argue with the results so far. And the confidence and leadership coming from the back is permeating the rest of the roster, leading to the kind of gritty start that has the Skyhawks sitting where they want to be – unbeaten.
“All four of those girls are like captains in terms of how they lead the team, the communication that they provide for everybody; it comes from the back four,” Clarke said.
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