If every soccer game ended with penalty kicks, the Fort Lewis women’s soccer team might be unbeatable.
The Skyhawks advanced to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinals thanks to a penalty kick victory over Colorado Mesa on Monday. FLC did it again on Thursday afternoon against MSU Denver. After 110 minutes, the teams were tied 1-1 and headed into penalty kicks to decide the winner.
Fifth-year goalkeeper Kaitlyn Rosenbaum made a save on the Roadrunners’ first penalty kick attempt. Four Skyhawks then made their penalty kicks. Then fifth-year midfielder McKenna Ford sealed the victory with her penalty kick to advance the Skyhawks to the RMAC Tournament Championship for the first time since 2015.
The seventh-seeded Skyhawks moved to 9-5-6 overall after the tie in regulation and 5-4 penalty kick shootout win. No. 3 MSU Denver moved to 10-3-7 overall after the tie.
“I’m ecstatic for the team and for the program to get over a hurdle that we felt like we've been good enough to get over, at least the quarterfinal game, for quite a few years,” FLC head coach Damian Clarke said. “Obviously, the goal was always to get beyond the quarterfinal. It was pretty special to get past the quarterfinal, accomplish a goal and reset for the next one.”
After tying MSU Denver 0-0 on Nov. 3, the Skyhawks had almost identical stats to the Roadrunners Thursday night. Both teams had 14 shots and three shots on goal. Each team had two saves. FLC did have the advantage in corner kicks 6-3.
Clarke said the teams play each other so well because of their defenses. He said MSU Denver has one of the best defenses in the conference, region and country. Clarke likes his team’s defensive form against any squad.
After a 0-0 first half, MSU Denver broke through immediately to start the second in the 45th minute. The Roadrunners scored on a free kick. Jenelle Arenibas played the ball into the box from around the center circle and Monica Yoder headed the ball just under the crossbar into the net for a 1-0 lead.
FLC’s response came in the 72nd minute. The Skyhawks had a corner kick that was played into the middle of the box. MSU Denver failed to clear it and senior midfielder Sabrina Reyes kicked the ball from the right side into the left side of the net.
In overtime, FLC dodged a bullet when an MSU Denver player hit a rocket of a strike from about 25 yards out that hit the crossbar and was cleared away.
Clarke said he’s lucky to have a group that embraces pressure like this one. The Skyhawks have been in must-win games for two weeks and continue to perform because they want to continue to play with each other.
FLC advances to the championship game to face the top team in the RMAC and in Division II in Colorado School of Mines on Saturday in Golden at 6 p.m. The Skyhawks previously lost to Colorado School of Mines 5-1 on Oct. 11.
“You can't beat yourself when you're playing a team that's that good,” Clarke said about Colorado School of Mines. “That's the bottom line … our team, they feel like they can score a goal on anybody. For the most part, they have been capable of scoring goals on anybody. We know what's in front of us. There's no illusions, but at the same time, we're a completely different team than we were when we saw them last. You don't control the result. You control your effort, you control your energy, and you know you hope that those two things limit the mistakes.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
