Box score
2012 RMAC women's soccer playoff bracket

DURANGO, Colo. — In their wildest imagination, fans, coaches and players could have never imagined the final minute of regulation as Fort Lewis (12-3-3 overall, 8-3-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) and Regis (12-4-2, 10-2-2) combined for three goals in the final minute of regulation in what goes down in the books as an anything-but-routine 3-3 draw that gave the Rangers the 2012 RMAC women's soccer regular season title and relegated to the Skyhawks to a first-round road playoff game.
 
Regis' Sade Akindele started the madness with a rush down the right flank in the final minute, blasting a shot from the right into the far side netting to level the score with 55 seconds remaining in regulation. The unassisted goal was her second of the game and 12th of the season.
 
Fort Lewis showed great resolve rather than wilt under the pressure of Akindele's equalizer. The Skyhawks quickly moved up field and took the lead back 17 seconds later when Elena Benavides blasted a shot into the center of the netting off a crisp set-up pass from Megan Striedel. The goal was Benavides' second of 2012 and appeared to be the game-winner and a backbreaker for the Rangers.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, though, Marissa Davis played the ball forward and then launched a Hail Mary from midfield that ricocheted off the crossbar that Skyhawk goalkeeper Amanda Raso covered up barely across the goal line to knot things at 3-3 10 seconds after Benavides' score, with just 28 seconds left in regulation. The score was Davis' ninth of the season.
 
Overtime was merely a formality, as neither team could bury the game winner in two extra 10-minute frames.
 
“What a crazy day,” said sixth-year FLC head coach Damian Clarke. “In all reality, we couldn't ask for much more out of the kids than the way that they played. They were excellent. The defense was extremely good to deal with Regis for as long as they did.
 
“A couple of plays were a bit unfortunate on our side and a bit fortunate for them,” he added. “Not that Regis didn't earn the opportunities, but it definitely felt like we played better than they did in the second half.”
 
The two teams combined for nine goals — five of which came in a 10-minute span early in the second half — nine days ago in a 6-3 Regis win on the Regis Match Pitch. After such an outburst, it was only fitting that today's first half saw two teams patiently trying to break each other down. Only six shots were launched in the first half, none of which were of the spectacular variety.
 
But the second half started with a bang. Akindele headed a cross from Davis from the far right 19 seconds in to put the Rangers on top 1-0.
 
Fort Lewis countered 58 seconds later off a set piece. Benavides floated a corner kick from the right into traffic that Emily Walters corralled and tapped to Madyson Wellcome, who sent a shot past Regis backup goalkeeper Ellen Augsburger to the middle of the net to level the score at 1-1. A defensive-minded central defender, the tally marked the first career goal for the Skyhawk junior.


The end-to-end action continued through the second half, with the two sides combining for 20 shots (12 for the Skyhawks). Fort Lewis went ahead 2-1 with 7:08 remaining when Sam Weiss and Emma Cannis connected on a bang-bang play that freed Cannis for a breakaway. Weiss played a through ball down the middle and Cannis outran her defender, sending a low shot toward the left side of the goal to notch her sixth score of 2012 and put FLC ahead 2-1. The lead looked as if it would stand before Akindele set off 27 seconds of madness that the crowd of 335 won't soon forget.
 
Now the Skyhawks must regroup and prepare for a deep run into the RMAC playoffs if it hopes to make its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs.
 
It all begins at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Mountain Lion Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo., where No. 18 UC-Colorado Springs (13-3-2, 9-3-2) — the fourth seed in the RMAC tournament — hosts fifth-seeded Fort Lewis. The winner will face RMAC regular season champion and No. 1 seed Regis on the Regis Match Pitch in the league semifinals at noon on Friday.
 
“I think we're excited about doing it,” said Clarke, who thinks a pair of wins might be enough to send FLC dancing. “The kids are good with their back against the wall, and I think they showed that today. They'll come out and perform and if they do so, this will always be a very, very difficult team to beat.”
 
UC-Colorado Springs defeated Fort Lewis 1-0 in overtime in the only meeting between the two teams in 2012 on Sept. 23 at Dirks Field. That game marked UCCS' only win ever against the Skyhawks, who still lead the all-time series 6-1-0, including a 3-0 first-round RMAC playoff win on Nov. 4, 2009 at Dirks Field.
 
The winner of the RMAC tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II playoffs, although it's likely that the RMAC will send three teams to the Big Dance.
 
Today's match marked the final home appearance for seniors Benavides, Rachael Budagher and Serena Mancha.