Box score
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Ally Kvidera netted the game-winning goal and
Jessica Norby scored four times to lead Fort Lewis (1-0 overall, 1-0 in the
Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association) to a 14-13 win over Colorado Mesa (0-2, 0-2) last night in FLC's season opener at Walker Field.
Kvidera scored the game-winner with 1:58 remaining and the Skyhawks held the Mavericks scoreless in the final 9:28.
“It's great that we pulled out the W, but we need to clean up our attack and tighten up our defense,” said third-year FLC head coach Kelsey MacDonald.
Freshman goalkeeper
Alyssa Spencer (1-0) stopped 13 shots in her collegiate debut to earn the victory.
“Alyssa had a great game in the net and made some key saves down the stretch,” said MacDonald.
CMU trailed 13-11 with 10:44 remaining in regulation when the Mavericks' Ashley Eickoff scored back-to-back goals in a span of 1:16 to tie the game at 13-13.
The first half featured 15 goals with the Mavericks holding an 8-7 halftime advantage. CMU's Paige Amme scored her first two collegiate goals to give CMU a 2-1 lead. The Skyhawks grabbed their first lead of the game (3-2) on consecutive goals by
Brook Wineland and Norby at the midway point of the first half.
CMU went on a 4-0 run in just under four minutes for their biggest lead of the game, 6-3, with 10:17 left in the first frame. The two teams traded goals with CMU holding a 7-4 edge at the 3:20 mark.
Fort Lewis put together three unassisted goals to tie the score at 7-7 with 53 seconds remaining in the first half, with Norby,
Marissa DiCecco and
Ellie Carpenter leveling the score.
The Mavs broke the tie when Eickoff took a pass from Lexie Chavez with 23 seconds remaining for the score and an 8-7 halftime lead.
Fort Lewis opened the second half with a barrage of shots and four quick goals to take an 11-8 lead with 21:04 left in the contest. Norby scored twice during this stretch, with Carpenter and DiCecco adding markers.
The two teams traded goals before CMU strung together two goals just 12-seconds apart to pull to within 12-11.
Kvidera's second goal of the game pushed the Skyhawk lead to 13-11 with 14:02 remaining. CMU's Eickoff scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at 13-13 at the 9:28 mark. Kvidera's goal in the final minutes sealed the victory for the Skyhawks.
CMU starter Lauren Wells fell to 0-2 on the year. She started the game and played early in the second half before being relieved by Kady Herzog. Wells re-entered the game late in the second half. She played 50:47, allowing 11 goals and recording nine saves. Herzog played 9:13, giving up three goals and making one save.
Eickoff scored a game-high five goals on eight shots to lead Colorado Mesa. Chavez and Amme each scored twice, while Allie Henderson, Coryann Ledford, Kelsey Krebs and Morgan Nance each net one marker.
FLC's Carpenter scored three times, DiCecco twice and Vertner once in their collegiate debuts.
Fort Lewis improved to 5-0 all-time against Colorado Mesa, which added women's lacrosse in 2011.
“Today will be a big test to play Regis very early in the season,” said MacDonald.
The matchup with the Rangers has been changed to 3:30 p.m. today (Saturday, Feb. 23) at Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. The game was originally scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday on the Regis Match Pitch, but changed due to forecasts of snow and cold weather for the Denver area on Sunday.
Regis leads the all-time series with Fort Lewis 8-0 and is 4-0 in Denver. In the last meeting between the two teams — April 20, 2012 at FLC's Ray Dennison Memorial Field — the Skyhawks nearly recorded their first-ever win in the series, losing 18-17 in double overtime.
The 2013 Skyhawk schedule features 15 games, including five at Ray Dennison Memorial Field. The first home game will be against McKendree at 3 p.m. on March 12.
