A little bit of weight was lifted off the shoulders of the Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team Sunday at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.
Fort Lewis (1-3) scored three second-half goals en route to a 4-2 road victory, but there was more to it than just a mark in the win column.
The Skyhawks’ come from behind victory was the team’s first of the season and the first in for first-year FLC head coach David Oberholtzer.
“It’s always a relief to get that first win no matter what season it is,” Oberholtzer said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “It was a big step for us. This is a process, and we’re trying to create a sustainable and winning culture here. There’s no doubt that we’re all in a transition with a lot of moving pieces, but the pieces are starting to come together as one.”
It wasn’t looking pretty early for FLC as St. Mary’s took a 1-0 lead with a 3rd minute goal. However, senior Tamino Kroeger had a quick response to even the match as he poked home a shot that had deflected off the post to tie it in the 20th minute.
St. Mary’s took a 2-1 lead early in the second half, but the Skyhawks responded quickly again as Nicolas Perez put a rebound into the net for the equalizer.
15 minutes later, Churchill Onumonu scored his second goal of the season to give the Skyhawks a 3-2 lead.
In the 86th minute, Martin Lopez took a pass from Thomas de Faria and chipped it into an open net to cap off the win.
The Skyhawks led in shots 12-9 and shots on frame 8-3. Goalkeeper Elliot Chadderton needed just one stop to secure the win.
“I talk a lot about consistency,” Oberholtzer said. “And that performance today was the first time we were consistent for a full 90 minutes. It’s something we’re going to build off of.”
Fort Lewis opens its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule at 3 p.m. Friday hosting South Dakota Mines at Dirks Field.
Midwestern State 1, Fort Lewis 0
The Skyhawks women’s soccer team hadn’t allowed a goal in two games heading into Sunday’s match, and if it wasn’t for a game-deciding penalty kick, it would be three.
Freshman goalkeeper Britt Blomso and the tough back line of FLC (1-2-1) haven’t given up much so far this season, but it was first-half penalty shot they gave Sunday that led to the game’s only goal in a 1-0 loss at Midwestern State.
The 39th minute goal by the Mustangs’ Hanna Mattinson was the first goal Blomso had allowed in well over 200 minutes between the posts.
She stopped the other five shots, but FLC couldn’t even the match in the second half.
Both teams attempted 12 shots, but FLC was outshot in shots on goal 6-1.
Fort Lewis will finally head home and open the RMAC schedule at 12:30 p.m. Friday against CSU-Pueblo.
jfries@durangoherald.com
