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Amber Otts
Edward Jacobs Jr
Sophomore Amber Otts played 90 minutes in the 0-0 draw versus (RV) MSU Denver

Women's soccer closes out regular-season with pivotal home match

11/5/2024 1:49:00 PM

By: Angela Roberts, Associate AD-Communications
DURANGO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College women's soccer team is playing at home in its regular-season finale this week with playoff-seeding implications on the line. The Skyhawks kickoff against Western Colorado University at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference finale.

What's at Stake
The conference has made some changes to the bracketing ahead of the 2024 RMAC Tournament. In past years, the bracket featured eight teams, with the top four seeds earning the right to host the quarterfinal round. While eight teams are still in the tournament, now there is a "play-in" game between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds. This allows the No. 1 seed to have a quarterfinal bye.

It gets tricky when you look at the standings ahead of Wednesday's game. Fort Lewis currently ranks seventh with 15 conference points. They are two points behind No. 6 Colorado Christian and one point ahead of Regis. With a win over Western Colorado tomorrow, Fort Lewis could sit with 18 points, a tie would put the team at 16 points.

Colorado Christian faces MSU Denver tomorrow, a match that (on paper) will likely fall in favor of the Roadrunners. If the Cougars lose and the Skyhawks win, Fort Lewis would jump into the No. 6 spot. If Colorado Christian wins and Fort Lewis wins, CCU will remain ahead of Fort Lewis. Regis needs a win over Black Hills State tomorrow to make the tournament. If Regis wins, they will have 17 points to rank eighth.

-Potential Scenarios-
  • Regis wins, Fort Lewis wins, and Colorado Christian wins…the order would remain CCU (No. 6), Fort Lewis (No. 7) and Regis (No. 8)
  • Regis loses, Fort Lewis loses, and Colorado Christian loses…the order would be CCU (No. 6), Western Colorado (No. 7), and Fort Lewis (No. 8)
  • Regis wins, Fort Lewis wins, and Colorado Christian loses…the order would be Fort Lewis (No. 6), CCU (No. 7), and Regis (No. 8)
  • If any of the three teams were to tie, there would be a handful of additional scenarios possible. For the sake of keeping this short(ish) we will not explore those options yet.

Last Time Out
The Skyhawks played a pair of games on the front range last week, falling by a 2-0 final to Colorado Christian on Friday before gutting out a 0-0 draw against (RV) MSU Denver on Sunday. In Friday's loss, the Skyhawks outshot the Cougars 18-14 on the match, but the teams were even with seven shots on goal apiece. There were 24 fouls and three yellow cards assessed.

Senior Sabrina Reyes led the team with three shots on goal while playing 90 minutes, followed by senior Gabi Meraz-Fishbein who had two shots on goal in 90 minutes. Fifth-year McKenna Ford was active for the entire 90-minute match alongside junior Rachel Peebles. Fifth-year goalkeeper Riley Bravin made five saves in the first half.

Sunday's key draw saw 13 shots for MSU Denver versus eight for Fort Lewis, and the teams each sent three shots on goal. There were 13 fouls and one yellow card assessed. Senior Sabrina Reyes led the team with two shots on goal while sophomore Haley Stafford was responsible for the team's third. Sophomore Amber Otts, junior Rachel Peebles, and senior Danielle Gonzales joined Rosenbaum by playing the full 90 minutes. That foursome was also responsible for the defensive shutout that saw three saves by Rosenbaum.

Scouting Western Colorado
The Mountaineers are 4-9-4 on the year and 3-5-3 in conference play following a 1-1 draw versus Colorado Christian on Sunday. They are 1-5-2 on the road this season. Western Colorado is under the guidance of first-year head coach Joshua Alcala. Alcala joined the team after spending two seasons on staff at Colorado College (NCAA DI) as an assistant coach.

As a team, Western Colorado is averaging .94 goals per game (16 total) while allowing 2.12 from its opponents. The Mountaineers put up 9.6 shots per game compared to 21.9 for the opposition. Natsuki Murakami leads the team with three goals and two assists, followed by Cianna Thomas who has three goals and one assist. Eight additional players have scored goals this season, including two with a pair to their credit. Aubree Orosco has been the primary goalkeeper, starting in 14 matches with a 1.81 goals against average and 111 saves. She has a record of 4-6-4 with two shutouts.

Fort Lewis is 9-2-3 all-time against Western Colorado with a 4-0-2 record when playing at home. The Skyhawks ended the regular-season with a 1-0 win over the Mountaineers last year and have not lost a match to Western Colorado since 2017.

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 17-0-1 record. Colorado Mesa follows at No. 18 with a record of 12-2-2, and MSU Denver rounds it out by receiving votes.

In the conference statistical rankings, Fort Lewis sits 5th in shots per game (15.63), 5th in shots on goal/game (6.63), 4th in goals/game (7.75), 4th in assists/game (1.31), 5th in goals against average (1.25), 4th in saves percentage (.762), and 7th in fewest fouls per game (7.63). The Skyhawks are also in the national ranks for average home attendance, sitting in 11th with 329 fans per game.

Individually, Abila Tapia ranks 9th in the conference with .313 goals per game. Danielle Gonzales is 6th in assists per game at .267. Gabi Meraz-Fishbein is 4th with 2.79 shots per game.
 
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