Fort Lewis FLC (3-0-1, 0-0-0)

West Tex. A&M WTAMU (1-2-1, 0-0-0)

Fort Lewis FLC

(3-0-1, 0-0-0)

Final

Sep. 15, 2024

West Tex. A&M WTAMU

(1-2-1, 0-0-0)

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Fort Lewis FLC	0	1	1
West Tex. A&M WTAMU	0	0	0

Summary
Box Score

Kaitlyn Silva

Lucas Martin (1) eyes his defense as the Skyhawks defend against Trinidad State up on Dirks Field (Aug. 21, 2024)

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | 9/15/2024 2:55:00 PM | Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

No. 15 Fort Lewis leaves Canyon with shutout over West Texas A&M

CANYON, Texas – Non-conference success continued on Sunday afternoon as the No. 15-ranked Skyhawks overcame exhausting heat and a relentless foe to emerge with a 1-0 victory over West Texas A&M (1-2-1) down at The Pitch to climb to 3-0-1 on the season.

"We were missing a few guys today, but what a great opportunity for other guys to step up. We've talked a lot about how each match has to be a team effort from top to bottom," David Oberholtzer shared. "Defense is something that we've really talked about and emphasized this season and to be able to double our clean sheet total from last year on the road against a tough opponent in a tough environment is something I'm very proud of the guys for."

It was a scorcher down in Canyon as temperatures rose from the high 70s in the first half up into the low 90s early into the second half. The Buffaloes took full advantage of the heat pressing Fort Lewis into its defensive half early on and leading the Skyhawks in shots 5-2 and corner kicks 5-0.

After coming up empty in the first half, the Skyhawks steadily adjusted to the temperatures and began to build its attack. FLC rifled off 11 total shots in the second half, including five shots on goal, to match WTAMU with 13 total shots for the day. In addition, Fort Lewis did not take a corner kick in the match.

Shortly into the second half, Julián Rojas collected the ball inside of the Buffs defensive half and sent service up the right side to David Citron just outside of the penalty box. Citron drove inside the box, but his crossing pass was blocked and batted around by a pair of West Texas defenders. Fortunately, Citron was able to find enough space for a brief touch pass over to Tomas Duenes who used a quick touch of his own to collect the ball near the penalty line and belt a left-footed shot into the right corner of the net for the game-winning goal.

Sophomore Lucas Martin made five saves across the afternoon including a trio from within or around the 18-yard line of the penalty box. Martin picked up his third clean sheet of the season to double his total from last year and bring his career mark to six to tie Devin Zimmerman (2000-01) for the tenth-most all-time in a Skyhawks uniform. West Texas A&M's Bryce Cottle recorded five saves as well.

Notables
-Jacob Ramos and Luke Pope both made starts for the first time in their careers as Skyhawks.
-Tomas Duenes' recorded his first goal of the 2024 season and the 18^th of his career.
-With his assistance to Duenes, David Citron earns his third assist of the season and ranks second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Citron now has eight career assists.
-Fort Lewis extends its winning streak over West Texas A&M to six consecutive matches and now leads the all-time series 13-8-1, but still trails the Buffs 4-3-0 down in Canyon, Texas.
-The Skyhawks improve to 3-0-1 to remain unbeaten through its first four games for the first time since 2019 (2-0-2).
-Lucas Martin doubled his shutout total from 2023 to now rank tenth all-time in career shutouts at Fort Lewis alongside Devin Zimmerman (2000-01) with six.

Four Match Set
Next Thursday and Saturday, Sep. 19 and 21, Fort Lewis will play host to a trio of regional opponents including Colorado Mesa (1-1-1), Simon Fraser (1-2-1), and Montana State Billings (1-1-2). The Skyhawks and the Mavericks will both play each visiting opponent from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. CMU will play in the 4:30 p.m. time slot each day with FLC to follow at 7:00 p.m.

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