Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

Elizabeth David Celebration
Kaitlyn Silva

Women's soccer welcomes BHSU and Regis for Homecoming, Fifth-Year and Senior Days

10/24/2024 10:00:00 AM

By: Angela Roberts, Associate AD-Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – After battling to earn a point in a physical road match versus Westminster, the Fort Lewis College women's soccer team will return to Dirks Field for a pair of conference matches as well as its Fifth-Year Day and Senior Day.

Fifth-Year and Senior Day Celebrations
The Skyhawks have a veteran roster with many players choosing to use their extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA after the COVID pandemic. Because of this, the team has elected to extend the honors to both home matches this week—Friday being "Fifth-Year Day" and Sunday being "Senior Day".

The fifth-year players being honored are Riley Bravin, Katlyn Rosenbaum, Julia Johnson, McKenna Ford, and Hannah Paschke. Sunday's seniors are Sabrina Reyes, Tristan Hanrath, Gabi Meraz-Fishbein, and Anika Scherer.

Last Time Out
Fort Lewis played league matches at No. 22 Colorado Mesa and Westminster last week. The match against the Mavericks ended in a 3-1 final. Colorado Mesa outshot Fort Lewis 13-9, including a 7-3 lead in shots on goal. The Skyhawks had four corner kicks versus three for the Mavericks. Junior Abigail Nkrumah scored her third goal of the season, assisted by sophomore Abila Tapia. Fifth-year goalkeeper Riley Bravin played 45 minutes and made three saves.

Sunday's tightly contested match against Westminster ended in a 1-1 tie after both teams were awarded penalty kicks. The Skyhawks played man-down for the final 15 minutes of the match to hang on to the win. Fort Lewis had a 13-10 edge in shots, but Westminster had a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. The teams played a physical style of soccer and accumulated 27 fouls, three yellow cards, and a red card. Senior Gabi Meraz-Fishbein was responsible for the Skyhawks' penalty kick goal and led the team with five shots while playing 90 minutes. Juniors Anna Tucker and Nkrumah had three shots apiece. Defenders Elizabeth David and Rachel Peebles joined Meraz-Fishbein in playing the full 90 minutes. Goalkeepers Katlyn Rosenbaum and Riley Bravin combined for four saves.

Around the RMAC
The league has three teams ranked or receiving votes in the latest version of the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. Colorado School of Mines leads the way and is the nation's top team with a No. 1 ranking and a 13-0-1 record. Colorado Mesa follows at No. 22 with a record of 9-1-2, and MSU Denver continues to receive votes.

Mines ranks first in the conference with 22 points, followed by Colorado Mesa (21) and MSU Denver (18). Fort Lewis is tied with Colorado Christian in the six-spot with 10 points. In the conference statistical rankings, Fort Lewis sits 5th in shots per game (15.08), 5th in shots on goal/game (6.42), 3rd in goals/game (1.92), 4th in assists/game (1.5), and 5th in goals allowed/game (1.42).

Meraz-Fishbein ranks 4th in shots/game (3.0). Tapia is 9th in goals/game (.333), and Coulter is 5th in assists/game (.300).

Scouting Black Hills State
The Yellow Jackets are 2-8-4 on the year and 2-5-1 in conference play. They own an 0-4-1 record when playing on the road. The highlight of the year came on October 4 when they earned a 1-1 tie against No. 1 Colorado School of Mines.

As a team, the Yellow Jackets are averaging one goal per game while allowing 2.36 from their opponents. They total nine shots per game compared to 16.9 from the opposition. Paige Hill leads the team with four goals and three assists (11 points), followed by Anacel Valenzuela-Acosta with three goals and three assists (9 points). Three goalkeepers have seen time this season, led by Makayla Dannely who has started 10 matches. The senior has allowed 22 goals this season and has a pair of 10 save performances—including the 1-1 tie to No. 1 Mines.

Fort Lewis is 6-0-1 all-time against Black Hills State and has scored 17 goals throughout the series. Last season, the Skyhawks earned a 3-0 win over the Yellow Jackets in Spearfish, S.D. Fort Lewis has not surrendered a goal to Black Hills State since a 4-1 win in 2017.

Scouting Regis University
The Rangers are 5-7-2 this season with a 4-3-1 record in conference play. They sit at 2-4-1 on the road and split matches last week with a win over CSU Pueblo (1-0) and a loss to UCCS (1-0).

Regis has averaged 1.29 goals per game and allows 1.5 per game from its opponents. The team puts up 10.2 shots per game versus 13.4 from the opposition. Individually, Madeline Gardner leads the team with five goals and one assist (11 points). Natalie Bunch follows with four goals and an assist (9). Three goalkeepers have rotated responsibilities throughout the season with Grace Glover seeing the majority of the minutes. Glover has started in 11 of the team's 14 matches with a .95 goals against average.

Fort Lewis is 12-36-4 all-time against Regis and has lost the last four meetings. The Skyhawks are 7-15-2 against the Rangers when playing at home.

Up Next
Fort Lewis (6-4-2, 3-3-1 RMAC) will be on the road one final time next week with matches on the Front Range. First, the team will face Colorado Christian University (4-7-2, 3-4-1 RMAC) on Friday at 1:00 p.m., followed by a Sunday afternoon kickoff versus (RV) MSU Denver (7-3-4, 6-2 RMAC).
Print Friendly Version