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Three FLC soccer players earn all-league honors

Smith, Barela and Gonzales recognized
Danielle Gonzales of Fort Lewis College, left, goes up for header while playing the Colorado School of Mines this season. Gonzales recently earned an honorable mention in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for her performance this year. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file)

Three student-athletes from the Fort Lewis College women's soccer team have been named to the all-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams.

Headlining the trio was senior Katie Smith, earning a spot on the second team as a midfielder. Smith has earned all-RMAC honors in each of her four seasons with the Skyhawks, including RMAC defensive player of the year nods last season. This season, the versatile midfielder emerged as a scoring threat with four goals to her credit – a career number for the Grand Junction native. Smith finishes her fourth year on campus having played in 57 games, starting in 55, with nine goals and two assists.

“Katie Smith is someone who consistently effects the game, time and time again,” said head coach Damian Clarke. ”When you are a player who has that type of power on the field, you deserve nothing but recognition for being a high-level impact player.”

Madyson Barela and Danielle Gonzales also were named to the honorable mention team.

Barela, a junior midfielder, had a breakout year for the Skyhawks. Barela became a dependable offensive option during her third season in the blue and gold. She led the team in goals with five, exceeding her career total of four heading into the season.

“When you have most of your points from midfield, it says a lot about the work and grind you are putting in both offensively and defensively,” Clarke said. “Maddie came in with a mentality of being an impact player, and she grew into that role this season.”

Gonzales was a welcome addition to the Skyhawks family, starting in all 17 games while totaling three goals and one assist in her freshman campaign. The midfielder had a key two-goal outing in a 2-0 win over Black Hills State to keep Fort Lewis in contention for an RMAC Tournament seed.

“Gonzales is a player that came in as an attacking threat and found herself playing center back for a large portion of the season,” Clarke said. “Even under those circumstances, she was able to add goals to a team that needed it, and she did it in big moments.”

The Fort Lewis College women's soccer team’s 2021 campaign came to a close in a 1-0 loss to Colorado Mesa University in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal. FLC, the eight-seed, faced the top-seeded Mavericks for the second time this season, falling in both matches by identical 1-0 scores.

Fort Lewis closed out the season with an overall record of 5-10-2 and a 3-7-2 record in RMAC play.