Box Score

GOLDEN, Colo. — The names may have changed, but the result was eerily the same. Exactly 272 days after Berekk Blackwell headed home Joey Madigan's corner kick to lift Fort Lewis to a 3-2 overtime win over Lynn in the 2011 NCAA Division II national championship game, lightning struck again with the game on the line.

This time around, with Blackwell and Madigan graduated from the program, it was freshman midfielder Yannis Becker heading home a corner that sophomore striker Kosta Kordistos launched from the right to lift the No. 1 Skyhawks (1-0 overall) to a season-opening, 2-1 win over No. 10 Incarnate Word (0-1) tonight at the CSM Soccer Field. Becker's marker came with just 4:40 remaining in regulation.

“We managed to get a corner with about four minutes to go and Kosta put in a good ball that Yannis headed into the goal to get us the win,” said fourth-year FLC head coach Oige Kennedy.

It certainly wasn't easy against the tenth-ranked Cardinals — a team that was sent packing in the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals by the Skyhawks in a 1-0 game in Durango that was also decided late.

“It was a good game,” said Kennedy. “I think we controlled possession for the most part, but they caught us making a mistake and we gave up a penalty after a corner kick.”

Early in the second half of a scoreless game, a corner by the Cardinals forced a Skyhawk foul in the box. Vincent Bailey buried the ensuing penalty kick at 49:45 to give his team a 1-0 advantage.

“It was just a lapse of concentration, which is what we can expect to see from this young group,” Kennedy said of his defending champs that have just four seniors on their 2012 squad. Of those seniors, only forward Derek Freeman saw extensive action a year ago.

“We lost focus for a split second and got punished, which you will do against the No. 10 team in the country,” said Kennedy.

“But we kind of came out and put them under a lot of pressure after that,” he added.

Less than 15 minutes later, sophomore outside midfielder Aaron Kloer leveled the score when he tapped Becker's free kick into the goal.

That set up the late game heroics by Becker and his German countryman, Kordistos.

“We learned tonight that this is a young group,” Kennedy said of his troops. “I'm proud of the guys and how we performed after we conceded and then managed to get ourselves a win.”

Fort Lewis outshot Incarnate Word 10-6 overall and 6-1 in shots on frame.

Ryan Schaul made his collegiate debut in goal and picked up the victory, allowing just the one penalty kick to beat him. Fort Lewis didn't surrender any other shots on target.

Jarred Kahan made four saves for the Cardinals, but was saddled with the loss.

Even though it was the season opener, tonight's match was crucial in terms of jockeying for postseason berths. Both teams compete in the South Central Region, which has three leagues and just two berths in the NCAA's big dance … and there are no automatic bids. In other words, every loss at the start of the season weighs heavily against a team's chances of advancing in November.

The Skyhawks get a day's rest before their next regional clash, one with St. Edward's at 11 a.m. Sunday at the CSM Soccer Field. The Hilltoppers (0-1 overall) lost 3-2 today to Colorado Mines at the CSM Soccer Field.

Fort Lewis leads the all-time series with St. Edward's 6-1-1 and has won the last four meetings. The one tie — on Nov. 13, 1999 — occurred in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, but FLC advanced in penalty kicks en route to their first-ever NCAA title game appearance.

No video, audio, or live stats will be available for Sunday's game.