As soon as the opening whistle blew, there was a difference.
Fort Lewis women’s soccer team showed off its skill, speed and possession advantages against Black Hills State at home on Friday night from the beginning of the game. After almost three weeks without a win, the Skyhawks women’s soccer squad cruised to a 4-0 victory against the Yellow Jackets.
The Skyhawks improved to 7-4-2 overall and 4-3-1 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play with its first win since Oct. 6. Black Hills State fell to 2-9-4 overall and 2-6-1 in RMAC play after the loss.
“We played well tonight, obviously,” FLC head coach Damian Clarke said. “We took care of chances. At times, we’ve struggled in front of the goal. All four wide players scored today, which is where a lot of our production comes from. It’s a great way to start the weekend.”
Sophomore Haley Stafford, sophomore forward Abila Tapia, junior forward Anna Tucker and junior forward Taylor Rittman each scored goals for the Skyhawks.
FLC outshot Black Hills State 26-10 and had a 12-5 advantage with shots on goal. Skyhawks fifth-year goalkeeper Riley Bravin had three saves and fellow fifth-year goalkeeper Katlyn Rosenbaum had two saves for FLC.
Clarke complimented his defenders for playing well together at the right time. He’s switched center backs and injuries caused switches in the back line.
FLC scored almost immediately. Both teams played some long balls early but after a steal by senior Danielle Gonzales in FLC’s own half, Gonzales played a beautiful ball over the head of the Black Hills State center back. Stafford ran onto it and had a 1v1 with the Yellowjackets keeper. She finished in the top right side of the goal for a 1-0 lead with 43 minutes to go.
The Skyhawks continued to threaten with their forwards’ speed advantage over the Black Hills State defenders. FLC played some more nice through balls but couldn’t convert.
Black Hills State had its first big chance nine minutes into the game. A ball was played through the middle of the field toward the FLC goal. The ball squirted through toward the middle of the 18-yard box. The Yellow Jackets’ Hailey Warren got a foot on it but Bravin came off her line for a great save and she kicked it away to a Skyhawks’ defender.
The Yellow Jackets struggled to connect passes in the middle of the first half. Some of them were bad passes, others were forced because of the Skyhawks’ pressure.
FLC’s speed and long balls paid off again as Stafford received a through ball on the left side. She ran onto it and played a beautiful cross with her left foot near the end line and across the 18-yard box. Tapia ran onto the ball and tried to head it down off the bounce but couldn’t convert as it was pushed away. Tapia regained possession, turned left and floated a ball with her left foot over the keeper’s head and into the top left corner. FLC led 2-0 with 19 minutes left in the first half.
“We knew where spaces were going to be available,” Clarke said. “If we were going to play long, it needed to be with a purpose. The girls executed quite well.”
FLC junior forward Abigail Nkrumah came into the game with about 15 minutes left and immediately made an impact. She played at a different pace than everyone else. Nkrumah was like a point guard in basketball who couldn’t be sped up. She created multiple opportunities with some great through balls and touch passes.
The Skyhawks struck again thanks to the left foot of Anna Tucker. FLC combined well in the midfield. Tucker received a soft layoff from senior midfielder Sabrina Reyes and shot a low ball without a lot of pace from about 25 yards out. The ball was placed perfectly into the lower right corner for a 3-0 lead with nine minutes left in the first.
Nkrumah continued to create in the second half. She found Rittman and Rittman finished in the lower left corner for a 4-0 lead less than a minute into the second half.
After that, FLC continued to control the game with its possession, speed and skill advantages. Clarke got some of his reserves into the game and a few of them had some chances before the final buzzer.
Clarke was happy to get some reserve players time to get them on the field and to get his starters off the field who he knows will play big minutes to finish the regular season.
The Skyhawks host Regis on Sunday at 1 p.m. FLC is currently fifth in the RMAC and Regis is sixth. Clarke thinks if the Skyhawks win against Regis, they’ll be well on their way to achieving their goal of hosting an RMAC playoff game.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
