DURANGO, Colo. – Although it was the men's team on the field Saturday, it sure had a similar feel to the women's match on the pitch the day before. With time ticking down, Ty Lang cashed in on a pair of great passes inside the box to bury the game-winning goal with seven seconds remaining to send the Fort Lewis College men's soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 win over Eastern New Mexico University Saturday afternoon at Dirks Field.
FLC (2-0-1) was slowly building momentum throughout the second half and after a couple of great chances, the Skyhawks were able to break through.
Trailing 1-0 at the half, the Skyhawks came out with energy to start the second frame and brought the intensity over the final 45 minutes. A great stretch just past the 60th minute mark helped spark the tying goal when Steen Shober made a move in the box and was taken down resulting in a penalty shot for the Skyhawks. Nicolas Perez took the kick and ripped it right into the middle of the net for his first goal of the season to tie the game at one at the 63rd minute.
FLC didn't let up, as they continued with the pressure. It looked like FLC had ENMU (2-2) on the ropes in the 77th minute when Shober ripped a shot on goal, but Logan Miears made the save. While Miears was recovering from the first shot, Lang jumped on the rebound and somehow Miears made almost a bicycle-type kick save in the net to preserve the tie.
A couple of more chances just went wide when FLC got another rush towards the goal and drew a foul. On the free kick, the ball got bounced around before Lang took a great pass from both Perez and Oz Levi to knock in the game-winner with just seven seconds remaining.
In the first half, the Skyhawks controlled play for a majority of the first 45 minutes, but the Greyhounds recorded the only tally late in the first half as Raith Houle knocked in a rebound goal from Craig Brand to push ENMU to the 1-0 lead in the 41st minute.
The numbers backup the offensive pressure FLC generated all game taking 23 shots, with 13 landing on net. ENMU had eight total shots, with four on goal. FLC had a 6-3 advantage on corner kicks and ENMU committed 14 fouls to 12 for FLC.
Coleman Kane led FLC with four shots, two landing on goal. He came close on a pair of header attempts on corner tries. Lang added three shots, with all three going on net. Perez, Bar Hazut, Shober, Max Fuentes, Marshall Metzger, Hakeem Rabiu and Ryan Lee added two shots apiece.
Ventura Salcido went all 90 minutes in net for the Skyhawks to record his second win of the season after making three saves.
Brand and Marvin Lewin had two shots apiece to lead the Greyhounds. Miears made 11 saves in net for ENMU, as he played all 90 minutes in net.
FLC will open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play this coming Friday when they will face nationally-ranked Colorado Mesa at Dirks Field starting at 3:30 p.m.
Hawks Fly Together: Fans interested in making a donation to the men's soccer program can do so by (once you click link, please select gift amount, then click on select fund, pick athletic teams and scholarships from the list and then in the sub-category, select men's soccer) clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Skyhawks. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.
