Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Corinne Sanderson 4.1
Bob Bonnar, FLC Athletics
FLC senior Corinne Sanderson (#20) scored her third goal of the season Thursday against CSM.
2
Winner Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM (5-0-2, 3-0-1)
1
Fort Lewis FLC (2-1-2, 1-1-0)
Winner
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM
(5-0-2, 3-0-1)
2
Final
1
Fort Lewis FLC
(2-1-2, 1-1-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Colo. Sch. of Mines CSM 1 1 2
Fort Lewis FLC 1 0 1

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

Skyhawks punch first, but #13 Orediggers rally back to grab 2-1 victory

DURANGO, Colorado — The final result was not what the Fort Lewis College women's soccer team wanted. But Thursday's tight 2-1 loss — the first of the spring for FLC — to No. 13 ranked Colorado School of Mines did illustrate just how far a young Skyhawks program has come in a calendar year.

"I think we're completely different. Last year, we were playing to get a point and this year we're trying to beat everyone that we play," said FLC head women's soccer coach, Damian Clarke. "We're not interested in holding on. We're trying to make other teams hold on and I think we did that to Mines. I don't think they were comfortable at all. And the longer we can keep teams dealing with our pace and physicality, the more composed we're going to become."

Fort Lewis (2-1-2 overall, 1-1-0 RMAC) played the nationally ranked Orediggers (5-0-2 overall, 3-0-1 RMAC) to a scoreless draw in 2019, opting to pack it in defensively in a match FLC was out-shot 16-4.

Fast forward to Thursday, it was the Skyhawks who were the better team and aggressor's through the game's first 25 minutes.

Fort Lewis out-shot the Orediggers, 6-4, in the first half and drew first blood in the 23rd minute when senior Corinne Sanderson scored on a penalty kick, set up by the work of fellow senior Charlie Kaiser drawing a foul inside the box against CSM's goalkeeper Sierra Roth.

The goal was the team-leading third of the spring for Sanderson, who has started to blossom as a senior leader for the Skyhawks.

"I think that PK was absolutely earned from Charlie being brave enough to go in there against a massive goalkeeper. Even after the game, the first thing Corinne said was, 'Charlie earned that,'" Clarke said. "Corinne is very mature, she's a very good teammate, and it's made her a very good player."

After the Skyhawks dictated the action for most of the first half, the field started to shift in the Orediggers direction as they netted the equalizer at the 37:12 mark to send the game into the half tied 1-1.

Colorado School of Mines rode that momentum into the early minutes of the second half, taking a 2-1 lead in the 49th minute on a goal from AK Ford.

FLC sophomore goalkeeper Katherine Dunbabin, who finished with five saves on Thursday, made two saves just seconds prior, but Ford was able to gobble up a rebound and get a third attempt past Dunbabin.

"I think in all reality, we spent a lot of energy in those first 25 minutes emotionally and physically trying to get more than just a goal lead," Clarke said. "We were hoping we could get another one. What changed the game was just the experience of a team like Mines, which is really use to being in high level games. I think we're starting to show we belong in games like that."

The Skyhawks nearly pulled even in the 76th minute when freshman Aubrey Swindle tried to stuff a feed off a corner kick inside the near post. Roth made the save and had the ball roll past the goal line after sustained pressure from Swindle, but the officials called a foul on Swindle following the initial save.

"I thought the ball was in, but I couldn't tell for sure. Obviously, I think a foul happened so the goal was called back. But I couldn't tell who kicked who," Clarke said. "We had a couple great chances. We hit a couple posts. But we're going the right direction, for sure."

Fort Lewis will build off Thursday's positives as it heads into a Saturday road clash against Colorado State University Pueblo. Kick-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Print Friendly Version