Box score
DURANGO, Colo. — Sam Weiss scored her second hat trick of the season as Fort Lewis (12-3-2 overall, 8-3-2 in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) shut out Colorado Christian (2-14-1, 0-12-1) 4-0 this afternoon at Dirks Field.
“I think in general, we were pretty happy with that performance,” said sixth-year FLC head coach Damian Clarke. “I thought from back to front was really good today. The back four passed the ball extremely well. When the back four plays really well, then the rest of the group plays really well.
“And the forwards were just fantastic today,” he said.
None was more spectacular than Weiss, who tied her own school record with three goals in a single game.
The sophomore striker broke the ice at 17:06 on a bang-bang play started by
Elena Benavides, who played the ball into open space to
Therese Romero. Romero took one touch and sprung Weiss with a through ball that put her all alone against CCU goalkeeper Caitlyn Moses.
Weiss scored again just 1:23 into the second frame when
Emma Cannis played the ball over the top to Weiss, who chipped it over a charging Moses into the goal.
Her final marker was a thing of beauty. Weiss took the ball near midfield, passed it through the Cougar defense, and outran them to create a breakaway chance that Moses had no chance on to lock up the hat trick at 60:39. The goals were Weiss' 12th, 13th and 14th of the season, just two off the FLC single-season record of 16, set by Kate Mahler in 2006. She also moved to within two points of Carisa Bradford's team record of 37 total points in one season; Weiss now has 35 points on 14 goals and seven helpers.
Weiss could have scored even more, but was robbed twice by Moses in the first half, including a 1-v-1 in the opening minutes.
“Sam is just a special player,” said Clarke. “I think that we hadn't really seen her run fast in awhile. Her back is starting to feel better, and we saw that pace that we knew was there today.”
Her hat trick was the ninth in FLC history; the last time it happened was Weiss' three-goal outburst against Angelo State on Sept. 9. FLC Athletic Hall of Famer Kate Kelly is the only other player in school history to record two hat tricks in a single season, a feat that she accomplished in a span of six days in 1997 (vs. Grand Canyon on Sept. 20 and New Mexico Highlands on Sept. 26).
In between Weiss' last two goals, Cannis netted her fifth marker of the season when she volleyed a corner kick by
Allison Knewitz into the goal at 54:56.
“Emma was unbelievable all day long, too,” said Clarke.
The final score was indicative of FLC's dominance throughout the game. The Skyhawks outshot the Cougars 25-6 overall and 11-3 in shots on frame.
Moses made seven saves, while
Amanda Raso stopped three shots in recording her sixth solo shutout of the season. The blanking marked the tenth time that FLC kept a clean sheet in 2012.
The Skyhawks are 21-12-2 all-time against Colorado Christian and have won 16 straight in the series.
Fort Lewis remained in a fourth place tie with Metro State (11-4-2, 8-3-2) in the RMAC standings. Both teams have 26 points in league play (three points are awarded for a win, one for a tie). Regis took control of first place in the league standings (12-4-1, 10-2-1, 31 points) today, while UC-Colorado Springs fell to second place (13-2-2, 9-2-2, 29 points). Colorado Mines, which tied UCCS 2-2 in double overtime, sits in third (12-4-1, 9-3-1, 28 points). The only seed to be determined is Colorado Mesa (9-4-3, 6-4-2, 20 points), which has locked up the No. 6 spot.
The top six teams in the RMAC advance to the league playoffs, with first- and second-place finishers earning a first round bye. The third and fourth place teams will host opening round games on Wednesday, Oct. 31. The tournament winner is guaranteed an automatic berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Fort Lewis concludes its regular season at 1 p.m. Sunday when it hosts Regis at Dirks Field.
Sunday's match marks the final regular season home appearance for seniors Benavides,
Rachael Budagher and
Serena Mancha.
