Soccer is one of the few sports where the best team doesn’t always win. That was the case Thursday evening at Dirks Field at Fort Lewis College.
After conceding a goal in the first half to Simon Fraser University from Vancouver, Canada, the Skyhawks dominated the second half in every facet of the game. Freshman forward Theo Bergman had the equalizer but FLC could only find the back of the net once and had to settle for a 1-1 tie.
The Skyhawks moved to 3-0-2 overall after the tie. Simon Fraser moved to 1-2-2 overall after the tie. The Red Leafs beat FLC the last two years 1-0.
“I’m really proud of the guys and the performance they put on, especially in the second half,” FLC head coach David Oberholtzer said. “We ended up with 25 shots. The majority of that second half was played in their end, with them defending. It definitely felt like another one was going to come, I’m super happy we got the equalizer. Momentum was going our direction. Chances were coming it’s unfortunate we didn’t get the second one.”
The Skyhawks outshot the Red Leafs 25-7 and 16-3 in the second half. FLC had 10 corners compared to four for Simon Fraser. However, each only had three shots on goal.
Bergman had his first career goal and was assisted by junior midfielder David Citron.
The 6-foot-3-inch Swedish freshman played a season-high 63 minutes mostly because fellow Swede Anton Hjalmarsson suffered an injury. Hjalmarsson started after missing a few games due to a foot injury. In the first half, Hjalmarsson had a hamstring issue that forced him to miss the rest of the game.
“He’s doing a good job,” Oberholtzer said about Bergman. “It can be a tough adjustment and he’s still finding his feet. He’s doing a really good job, he’s working hard and I’m really happy for him to get the goal. Hopefully there’s a lot more to follow.”
Alexandre Marcoux scored Simon Fraser’s goal. Red Leafs’ goalkeeper Jordan Thorsen and FLC sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Martin each had two saves.
Simon Fraser struck first off a corner kick with 30 minutes left in the first half. A ball curled in from the left was kicked into the back of the net by Marcoux for a 1-0 lead with 30 minutes left in the first half.
The Skyhawks had good possession but didn’t challenge Simon Fraser with any shots on goal in the middle of the second half. FLC continued to pressure and had a corner with 14 minutes to go which went over everyone’s heads.
FLC continued to press and get corners but didn’t challenge Thorsen. The Skyhawks switched the field well, found runs deep into Simon Fraser territory. Junior defender Casey Stratcher had a few great runs down the left side and challenged the Simon Fraser defense with his speed. FLC just couldn’t find the back of the net.
“He’s super athletic and really comfortable on the ball,” Oberholtzer said about Stratcher. “Typically, he’s been playing in a defensive position for us and we pushed him a little more up the field today. He’s just a really good soccer player and he’s a handful.”
Simon Fraser led 1-0 at halftime despite being outshot 9-4 by FLC.
The Skyhawks had the first big chance of the second half. FLC had some crisp ball movement and senior midfielder Thomas Kirkham was played a ball at the top of the 18-yard box. He took a touch with his left and shot it over the goal two minutes in.
Citron created the next three chances. He curved a ball toward the far post that was missed wide. He then set up Legendre who skied it over the bar. Then Citron received a ball in the box, turned and shot but it was blocked.
“He’s really had a great year,” Oberholtzer said about Citron. “It’s still really early, but he’s having a big impact. He’s really clever in his movement and he’s got great vision to find that final pass.”
Senior forward Tomas Duenes had the next chance but missed high and wide with his left. FLC dominated possession the first 10 minutes of the second, Simon Fraser had maybe 10% of the possession during that time.
FLC continued to press and attack. The elevation looked like it was starting to tire Simon Fraser and FLC knew it.
Then it finally happened. FLC created a turnover in the midfield and counterattacked. Citron was played a ball to the right side and played a beautiful through ball to Bergman, who finished under the keeper for the equalizer 1-1 with 26 minutes left.
“We started pressing a little higher and collectively started pressing a little better,” Oberholtzer said. “As soon as we made them uncomfortable, we won the ball back in good positions and kept them pinned in.”
Simon Fraser looked to have its second goal but it was called offside. On the counterattack, Citron found space on the right side, set it to Duenes who rocketed a shot at Thornsen with 17 minutes to go.
A rare opportunity for Simon Fraser arose after a foul in the midfield. The Red Leafs had a free kick from about 25 yards out but it was skied high with 13 minutes left.
Skyhawks fans and players were upset when a Skyhawk injury stoppage was called when FLC had a clear advantage.
FLC continued to press and create opportunities. Duenes fired a low rocket with five minutes left which barely raced past the left post.
After that, the danger of a loss wasn’t evaded when Martin had to make a rare diving save from a Simon Fraser shot from outside. Shortly after, the buzzer sounded to lock in the tie.
It’s a quick turnaround for FLC as it plays at home against Montana State University Billings on Saturday at 7 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
