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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

rabiu
FLC junior Hakeem Rabiu scored a goal in Friday's 1-1 tie against Colorado Mesa (File photo)
1
Fort Lewis FLC (2-0-3, 0-0-1)
1
Colorado Mesa CMU (2-1-1, 0-0-1)
Fort Lewis FLC
(2-0-3, 0-0-1)
1
Final
1
Colorado Mesa CMU
(2-1-1, 0-0-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
Fort Lewis FLC 0 1 0 0 1
Colorado Mesa CMU 0 1 0 0 1

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

Skyhawks earn a point, tie Colorado Mesa in conference opener

GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado — The Fort Lewis men's soccer team opened RMAC play in a hostile environment Friday, going on the road and earning a 1-1 draw against rival Colorado Mesa University at Walker Field.

With the tie, the Skyhawks (2-0-3 overall, 0-0-1 RMAC) remained undefeated on the young season and picked up a key point against a Mavericks team (2-1-1 overall, 0-1-1 RMAC) that was preseason ranked No. 3 in the RMAC coaches' poll.

"(Friday) I felt like was our best team performance over the past couple of weeks. We've talked about trying to put together a complete 90-minute performance together. I still don't think we did that to the fullest, but we're getting closer," said Fort Lewis head coach, David Oberholtzer. "Getting a point on the road against a tough conference opponent, at the end of the day, is not a terrible thing."

The Skyhawks were close to picking off that second point, taking a 1-0 lead at the 58:01 mark of the second half when junior forward Brantley Bice found a streaking Hakeem Rabiu for his second goal of the season.
For Bice, the assist was his first point of 2019 and first as a Skyhawk after transferring in from the University of Memphis.

"The first 20 minutes of the second half was our best spell of the game. We were really sharp and playing in Mesa's end," Oberholtzer said. "It was a great goal and excellent pass from Brantley over the top. Hakeem did a great job with the timing of his run and have the ability to bring it down and strike it."

Fort Lewis maintained its 1-0 lead until the 82:53 mark with Colorado Mesa's Ethan Anderson was able to sneak a shot through traffic past FLC goalkeeper, Peter Byrne.

Byrne, the reigning RMAC Men's Goalkeeper of the Week, made five saves on Friday and faced a total of 23 shots to help the Skyhawks earn the 1-1 draw.

"It was just a ball into our box that we didn't field, ultimately," said Oberholtzer of the equalizer. "Peter made a number of great saves (Friday). There was just a lot of traffic in front of the goal and was able to squeak through."

The Skyhawks will now rest up and prepare for Sunday's home opener against Adams State University (0-3 overall, 0-1 RMAC), putting an end to a five-game road swing to open up 2019.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at Dirks Field.

"I think we're all excited for Sunday and to finally have a game on Dirks Field," Oberholtzer said. "It feels like we've been on the road for a month, so it'll be great to be back home, have the guys sleep in their own beds, and be in front of our fans."
 
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