Box score
ALAMOSA, Colo. — Kate Sowell scored an unassisted goal in the 78th minute as Fort Lewis (8-2-2 overall, 4-2-2 in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) rallied for a 3-2 win over a scrappy Adams State side today at the ASU Lacrosse & Soccer Field.
Fort Lewis twice rallied from one-goal deficits in notching what sixth-year head coach Damian Clarke called a season-defining victory, comparing it to a 3-2 overtime win at New Mexico Highlands last fall in which FLC tied the score in the final 10 seconds and eventually won in overtime, sparking a deep run into the NCAA Division II playoffs.
“Today, it was fantastic football all of the time,” he said. “We just never put our heads down and eventually passed our way to a win. Having three freshmen step up and put something in the back of the net says a lot about this team.”
Set pieces resulted in both of Adams State's first half goals. Clarke said the Grizzlies are the only team to score off set pieces against FLC through the season's first 12 games. In the previous meeting between the two teams, which the Skyhawks won 4-1, ASU scored off a free kick
The first Grizzly goal came when Kaylee Smith took a corner kick that FLC knocked back out. Smith corralled the ball and fired a cross back into the box that Jenna Iwaniec headed past
Caitlyn Espinosa to give the Grizzles a 1-0 lead just 10:58 into the game.
The lead was short-lived, though, as Molly Cellar equalized 50 seconds later.
“K.K. (
Allison Knewitz) got to the end line and put it in and Celler directed it to the far post,” Clarke said of the first tying goal.
The Grizzlies took a 2-1 lead at 23:07 when Brooke Dudley headed Smith's corner kick from point-blank range. Clarke said the ball found its way between FLC's two lines of defense and froze the Skyhawks.
After intermission, FLC quickly regrouped and Durango High School grad
Brooke Milliet netted her first goal in a Skyhawk uniform at 49:07 to equalize.
Therese Romero assisted on the second game-tying marker.
“We were absolutely just destroying them in terms of possession and Therese found Brookie behind the center back and she just hammered it into the side netting,” said Clarke.
That set the stage for Sowell's heroics.
“There was about 12 minutes left when we scored the third goal. We had a foul wide of the goal about 25 yards out and
Lauren Riley put it in and it popped out to Kate, who smashed it for the winning goal.”
The Grizzlies are no doubt tired of seeing Sowell, who previously torched them for a pair of goals in FLC's 4-1 win last month.
The Skyhawks outshot ASU 13-7 overall, 9-3 in shots on goal.
Espinosa made one save in improving to 2-0-1 for the Skyhawks. Christie Stemple stopped five shots for the Grizzlies.
Fort Lewis beat Adams State for the 17th straight time, improving to 18-2-2 in the all-time series.
A little over the midway point of the RMAC regular season title chase, Fort Lewis finds itself in sixth place with 14 points (three are awarded for a win, one for a tie). Red hot Metro State — winners of six straight and ranked No. 16 in the latest NSCAA/Continental Tire national poll — leads with 19 points (6-1-1 in league games), followed by Colorado Mesa (17, 5-1-2), UC-Colorado Springs (16, 5-2-1), No. 23 Regis (16, 5-2-1), Colorado Mines (15, 5-3-0), and Fort Lewis (14, 4-2-2). The top six teams in the 10-team league qualify for the RMAC playoffs, with the postseason winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.
Fort Lewis can improve its standing in a pair of games on its home pitch next weekend. Colorado State-Pueblo (1-9-1 overall, 1-7-0 RMAC) visits Dirks Field at 1 p.m. Friday, while Colorado Mesa (8-1-3, 5-1-2) comes to Durango at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Friday's meeting between the Skyhawks and ThunderWolves is their first of 2012. FLC holds a slim, 15-14-5 advantage in the all-time series.
Sunday's contest with Colorado Mesa is their second meeting of 2012, with the two teams playing to a 0-0 scoreless tie through two overtimes in Grand Junction last month. FLC leads the all-time series 15-12-4. The Mavericks haven't beaten the Skyhawks since the 2007 season and are 0-7-2 against FLC during that stretch.
