Box score
2012 RMAC men's soccer playoff bracket

DURANGO, Colo. — No. 1 Regis (16-0-1 overall, 14-0-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) wrapped up a perfect regular season by rallying for two goals in the second half to defeat the defending NCAA Division II national champions, Fort Lewis (9-7-2, 6-6-2) 2-1 today at Dirks Field.
 
Adding insult to injury, the Rangers team matched the 2009 Fort Lewis squad with a perfect 14-0-0 RMAC regular season.
 
“I think we had a good performance, but unfortunately not a total performance,” said fourth-year FLC head coach Oige Kennedy. “We switched off a few times and made a few mistakes that let them back into the game. If it weren't for mistakes like that, we'd have a very good soccer team right now.”
 
It was the home side that broke through first when defender Derek Freeman finished off Yannis Becker's corner kick with a blast from point-blank range that flew just a few feet below the crossbar and scored the back twine at 26:42, much to the delight of the raucous FLC Hooligans, who didn't have much to cheer about in 2012 — a season that saw FLC post a losing record on its home pitch (2-3-2). Freeman's marker was his second of 2012, both of which have come off corner kicks.
 
The Skyhawks continued to pressure throughout the first frame, a well-played 45 minutes that saw them fire 12 shots at Regis goalkeeper Christian Nicolosi, who made two saves in the period.
 
A set piece proved to be FLC's undoing, though, early in the second half when Michael Sheehan headed Justin Ortinau's free kick from the extreme right of the field past Ryan Schaul to level the score at 1-1 at 51:30. The score was Sheehan's first of the season.
 
Mark Kelly scored the game-winner at 70:47 when he headed Martin Maybin's cross from the right into the goal.
 
“You don't win 14 straight games without being good,” Kennedy said of the Rangers, who swept the regular season series with Fort Lewis. The Skyhawks still lead the all-time series with Regis 32-11-5.
 
“We were a bit unlucky,” he said. “I think it bodes well for the future.”
                                
If Kennedy's troops would have held on for the victory, they'd have hosted a home playoff game. Instead, Dirks Field will remain dark during the postseason while sixth-seeded Fort Lewis travels to third-seeded Metro State (11-6-1, 8-5-1) for a 2:30 p.m. bout on Wednesday at Auraria Field. The winner of the Halloween tilt plays Colorado Mines on the Orediggers' home turf at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
 
The Roadrunners eked out a 1-0 overtime win over the Skyhawks on that same pitch on Sept. 28 — a game that the Skyhawks dominated, struck iron a few times, but couldn't finish.  Fort Lewis has dominated Metro State through the years, posting a 31-16-4 record against the Roadrunners, including a 7-1-1 mark in RMAC and NCAA Division II playoffs — and even the draw was a positive result for FLC, which advanced to the 2000 RMAC championship game after ousting the Roadrunners in penalty kicks following a 3-3 tie. FLC is 12-8-2 all-time against MSUD at Auraria Field.
 
While the No. 6 seed marks the lowest seed FLC has ever received in the RMAC tournament, Fort Lewis remains the only school to advance to the league playoffs in each of the RMAC's 17 years of men's soccer. The Skyhawks have won 11 of the 16 all-time RMAC tournaments and six of the past seven.
 
Unlike the women's tournament, the RMAC postseason winner is not guaranteed a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Fort Lewis is playing for a silver RMAC championship cup, a far different prize than the big, golden NCAA trophy their accustomed to vying for.
 
“We had a tough game against Metro when we lost in overtime earlier this season,” said Kennedy. “I know the guys will be focused and want to get a better result. It's do or die time now, and if we want a trophy, we've got to win the next three games.”
 
Today's contest marked the final home appearance for seniors Freeman, Andy Hoffman, Daniel Wilson and Kyle Woodson.