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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

MidwesternWin
Maureen Pasley, FLC Athletics
Britney Johnson celebrates with her teammates after scoring a goal during Sunday's 3-1 win over Midwestern State
1
MSU Texas MSU (1-1-0, 0-0-0)
3
Winner Fort Lewis FLC (1-1-0, 1-0-0)
MSU Texas MSU
(1-1-0, 0-0-0)
1
Final
3
Fort Lewis FLC
(1-1-0, 1-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
MSU Texas MSU 0 1 1
Fort Lewis FLC 1 2 3

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

Skyhawks earn first win of the season with 3-1 home victory over Midwestern State

DURANGO, Colorado — The Fort Lewis College women's soccer team picked off win No. 1 of the season on Sunday, rolling to a 3-1 victory over Midwestern State University at FLC Dirks Field.

Sunday's win was a big bounce-back performance by the Skyhawks (1-1 overall) after they fell by a 3-0 final — all first-half goals — to Angelo State University at home on Friday.

"I think the response to having a difficult game against Angelo State was exactly what we were looking for," said Fort Lewis head women's coach, Damian Clarke. "I thought that second half against Angelo we did well to grow into that half and it looked like it continued into (Sunday). Our energy was fantastic."

Fort Lewis wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as sophomore forward Skylar Byrnes finished off a pass from junior forward Corinne Sanderson in the 10th minute for the Skyhawks' first goal of 2019.

The game remained a 1-0 advantage for FLC until early in the second half when Midwestern State (1-1 overall) junior midfielder Kelly Cannistra cleaned up a rebound that bounced off the Skyhawks' crossbar to even the game at 1-1 in the 51st minute.

"In the second half, sometimes that first five minutes is a lot of times where things happen. Giving up the goal in that first five minutes was a little bit of a lesson for us," Clarke said. "Sometimes you have to play ugly to clear the ball out of pressure and I think we tried to pass the ball a little bit more than we needed to."

The Mustangs' momentum was short-lived, though as the Skyhawks answered right back in the 53rd minute off a set piece as senior forward Bailey Webster headed in a corner kick served in by senior midfielder, Emma Patron.

"That was huge. When you're able to respond as quickly as possible, you force the momentum to shift again," said Clarke of the go-ahead goal. "That second goal was a real momentum-shifter for us and I think it allowed us to maintain the confidence that we need to try and build."

Fort Lewis then put the game away in the 72nd minute, courtesy of another corner kicked — the fifth of the game for the Skyhawks — played perfectly in the box from Patron and headed in by senior midfielder Britney Johnson.

Patron's two assists tied her career-high in a game, previously set on Sept. 23, 2018 in a 3-0 victory over Adams State. After posting nine points in her junior season, Patron is off to a good start in topping that number in 2019.

"Emma's work rate throughout the game was just phenomenal," Clarke said. "Her ability to get up and down the field, basically be a box to box midfielder, was also what allowed us to earn some corner kicks just by pressing the opposition high. Then the consistency of the corner kick is critical. If we know where it's going to land, we've got a chance of putting ourselves in there. We've got confident and competent kids when it comes to trying to win headers and challenge those things. We need a consistent ball and she provided that (Sunday)."

In goal, senior goalkeeper Britt Blomso earned the victory as she recorded six saves on the seven shots she faced.

For the second straight game, the Skyhawks won the shots battle, outshooting the visiting Mustangs, 14-9.

Up next for Fort Lewis will be the start of a five-game road swing, starting at 7 p.m. Thursday evening out in Canyon, Texas against West Texas A&M University. The Lady Buffs (1-1 overall) are currently ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and coming off a 3-0 loss to No. 24 University of Colorado-Colorado Springs on Saturday.

"A team like West Texas is a difficult challenge," Clarke said. "That's a team that has been in the national tournament the last 4-5 years and ranked No. 10 coming into the season. It's a stiff test and one I think we're excited to go and grow into."
 
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