Blurred vision after a shot to the face from an opponent’s shoulder wasn’t enough to steal the focus of Courtney Riley.
A sophomore midfielder from Albuquerque, Riley helped lead Fort Lewis College women’s soccer to a 2-1 win against Texas Woman’s on opening day of the Skyhawks’ regular season. Riley delivered an assist on the Skyhawks’ first goal, then scored the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute to give FLC (1-0) a win in Jimmy Hall’s head coaching debut.
“It feels amazing,” Riley said. “Especially with such a young team, we are really grinding right now to find ourselves and just become a team right now.”
Moments after colliding with a Texas Woman’s (0-1) player, Riley was back on her feet ready to deliver a corner kick in the 23rd minute. She hit a perfect strike in front of the goal, and sophomore midfielder Carolyn Archer was there to collect the ball and put it in the back of the net.
“I just kind of put it across the face of the goal and got it right over the goalie and hoped one of my teammates were there, and three of them were,” Riley said.
Immediately after the goal, Riley checked out of the game and received treatment from team trainers for blurred vision in her left eye.
Late in the first half, the Skyhawks found themselves in an unfortunate spot after being whistled for a slide tackle. Referees came together, bringing a slight delay in play, and Texas Woman’s head coach Babak Abouzar and Hall exchanged a few words of their own on the sideline.
When play resumed, the Pioneers sent the ball downfield on a free kick. With the ball in the air near the scorer’s box, FLC freshman defender Savannah Boarman tried to clear the ball from danger with her head, but it ricocheted off her head and into the top corner of the far post past FLC junior goalkeeper Caitlyn Espinosa for an own goal.
“It was just unlucky. She did her job, just very unlucky,” Espinosa said of Boarman. “There was nothing I could’ve done about it. She did her job, nobody is mad at her, we move on.”
Boarman didn’t miss a beat the rest of the game, helping a stout back line that was led by sophomore Keisha Green, who broke up several of the Pioneers’ opportunities.
Hall was impressed by his team’s ability to get over the own goal and move forward.
“I think it is one of the special things about our team right now. They are a special team and come together,” Hall said. “I don’t have anyone off on their own or it’s about them. It’s very unique, and I love the atmosphere.”
Playing at altitude began to wear on the Texas Woman’s side in the second half, and the Skyhawks took advantage with Riley’s goal in the 72nd minute.
Riley received a long crossing pass from midfield off the boot of freshman midfielder Kyleigh Wierenga, and Riley took one touch of the ball before turning up the field and into the scorer’s box. She ripped a blast off her right foot, and Texas Woman’s goalkeeper Ariana Morrison was left frozen.
“I’ve been told multiple times to take it down line and cut it in. At halftime, Jimmy told me to hit it front post because the goalie’s not gonna know it’s coming at her, and I listened,” Riley said of the goal and the advice she received from her coach.
Espinosa made four saves in the game for FLC, and Morrison was credited with five saves for the Pioneers.
FLC outshot Texas Woman’s 11-8 in the game.
Espinosa was thrilled with the play of her defenders.
“They were solid. They listened. I really have no complaints,” Espinosa said. “We did absolutely awesome (Thursday). They worked hard, stepping up when I told them to, and it was really great to see that.”
Abouzar was pleased overall with the play of his Texas Woman’s team. He also commended Hall for his ability to maintain the Skyhawks’ high level of play after the abrupt resignation of former head coach Damian Clarke in July. Hall quickly was promoted to interim head coach after Clarke’s departure.
“They are a quality opponent, and they’re well-coached,” Abouzar said. “Their team hasn’t lost a beat since Jimmy has taken over, and I expect them to do some good things in the (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) this season.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
Clarke comes home to a draw
Damian Clarke was welcomed home by a few longtime fans, but his new home of Midwestern State University was unable to deliver a win in the former Fort Lewis College head coach’s return to Dirks Field.
Clarke, who coached the FLC women’s soccer team from 2007 to 2013 before resigning in July to accept the head coaching job in Wichita Falls, Texas, coached his team to a 2-2 draw with Colorado Mesa on Thursday in the opening game of the Fort Lewis Women’s Soccer Classic.
“We had to have a result, and we got one,” Clarke said.
The two teams played through a scoreless overtime to reach the 2-2 draw. Both of the Colorado Mesa goals came late in each half, and Clarke attributed that to fatigue as his Texas team battled in elevation.
“At the end of the day, I knew when it came down to it there was going to be an elevation factor,” said Clarke, who also played at FLC and is an alumnus of the Durango school. “Both their goals came late in halves, and to a certain sense that is to be expected. If we were going to give something up, it was at that point.”
Midwestern State scored the game’s first goal in the 13th minute when Nicole Coetzer found the back of the net in a one-on-one situation.
Colorado Mesa tied the match at 1 in the 32nd minute when Sarah Pope scored off an assist from Marie Dreher.
The Mustangs reclaimed a one-goal advantage when Alyssa Parkhill scored just minutes after the Mavericks’ equalizer.
Midwestern State held its advantage the majority of the second half, but Colorado Mesa tied the game once more in the 80th minute with a goal by Darion Wiegert.
“We started out a little nervous, and it took us awhile to get going,” Colorado Mesa head coach Jason Clare said in a news release. “In the second half, we settled down and really took control of the match. We had good scoring chances.”
Colorado Mesa had a considerable advantage in shots taken at 21-12.
The Mavericks (0-0-1) will face Texas Woman’s (0-1-0) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Dirks Field, and the match between Fort Lewis (1-0-0) and Midwestern State will follow immediately after.
“We get to train a little bit (Friday) and see if we can clean some things up,” Clarke said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
