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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Brantley Bice10.25
Peyton Rutkowski
FLC junior Brantley Bice scored a goal in Friday's 2-1 win over No. 18 Colorado School of Mines.
1
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM (10-3-2, 8-1-2)
2
Winner Fort Lewis FLC (8-4-3, 5-4-1)
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM
(10-3-2, 8-1-2)
1
Final
2
Fort Lewis FLC
(8-4-3, 5-4-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM 1 0 0 1
Fort Lewis FLC 1 0 1 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

Skyhawks open final home stand with 2-1 overtime victory over No. 18 Colorado School of Mines

DURANGO, Colorado — The Fort Lewis College men's soccer team and the conference-leading Colorado School of Mines Orediggers needed more than 90 minutes to settle Friday's RMAC showdown.

But not much more. FLC redshirt sophomore Loic Jean-Baptiste made sure of that.

Just 29 seconds into the overtime period, Jean-Baptiste collected a lead pass from freshman Matt Baldridge and buried the game-winner, providing the Skyhawks with three crucial points to begin their final four-game home stand.

"To get three points against a strong team like Colorado School of Mines is always a great result. And to get it in that dramatic fashion makes it even that much more enjoyable," said Fort Lewis head men's soccer coach, David Oberholtzer. "I'm super proud of the guys from start to finish."

For Jean-Baptise, the goal was his team-leading sixth score of the season and his third game-winning goal; all three coming in overtime sessions.

"I think Loic is always so calm on the ball, under pressure, whatever the situation is," Oberholtzer said. "In overtime, he just has this composure about him where he's able to make big plays."

As they did last Friday in a 4-3 double-overtime win over Dixie State, the Skyhawks (8-4-3 overall, 6-4-1 RMAC) were able to rally from an early deficit as the No. 18 ranked Orediggers tallied the game's first goal on a header by George Marchant in the 32nd minute.

That lead would be short-lived as junior forward Brantley Bice pulled FLC even at the 40:24 mark, finishing off a ball played in front of the box by fellow junior midfielder, Max Fuentes Carrera.

Bice, the hero in the Dixie State win, now has three goals and 10 points on the season after transferring from the University of Memphis.

"It was a huge goal. We were able to come out in the second half and not feel like we have to chase the game and could stick to our game plan," Oberholtzer said of Bice's goal.

The score remained knotted at 1-1 deep into the second half, with the Skyhawks' staving off a number of quality chances by the Orediggers in the final minutes of regulation.

Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Peter Byrne stopped four of the five shots he faced, while fellow redshirt sophomore AJ Haskell made a team save from his defenseman position with just 24 seconds remaining in regulation to keep the Orediggers off the scoreboard.

"I thought Mines had the game won a couple of times," Oberholtzer said of the late surge by CSM. "Peter came out of nowhere and made his typical, phenomenal saves. AJ cleared one off the line, as well. It was just a gritty performance."

While the final few minutes of regulation were taxing on the Skyhawks, Oberholtzer said he felt confident as soon as the team stepped back out on the pitch for overtime.
"Our message at the break was, 'We were here last Friday,'" Oberholtzer said, referring to FLC's 4-3 double-overtime victory against Dixie State. "It was the exact same situation. The guys were absolutely exhausted. Mines made us work for sure, so we were gassed at the end. We mentally had to find another gear and be up for (overtime) and, obviously, we were. I could feel when we went on the field at the start of overtime that they were ready to go."

Fort Lewis, currently sitting in fifth in the RMAC standings, will now turn its attention toward another crucial game on Sunday when it takes on South Dakota School of Mines at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

After winning an emotional game last Friday and being forced to settle for a weekend split, Oberholtzer said his team is focused on making sure they come back ready to go for Sunday's showdown with the Hardrockers.

"We're in the exact situation we were in last weekend. Sunday against a tough Westminster team we just didn't play our best for 90 minutes. We have to start thinking about that already and make sure we do everything we can to recover in a short period of time and that we're mentally ready to go for Sunday," Oberholtzer said. "Sunday's game is just as important as today."
 
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