Fort Lewis College Athletics

Kaitlyn Silva

Kaden Schufft (14) winds up to send service forward against the Red Leafs on Dirks Field (Sept. 18, 2025)

Men’s soccer climbs to No. 5 on latest USC national poll

9/23/2025 2:42:00 PM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

DURANGO, Colo. – Following two wins at home on Dirks Field last week, the Fort Lewis College men's soccer team has moved up to No. 5 on the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches top 25 national poll.

The Skyhawks earned a pair of 2-1 and 8-1 victories over Simon Fraser (0-4-2) and Northwest Nazarene (3-1-1), who had received votes on last week's USC poll, to remain unbeaten and move to 3-0-2 on the year heading into the final week of non-conference play.

Fort Lewis came away with a narrow victory over the Red Leafs, earning the program's first win over Simon Fraser in four consecutive seasons since the first meeting back in 2022. Casey Stracher registered his first goal of the season while Alessio Andreottola tacked on his fourth score of the year just nine minutes later.

On Saturday night, the Skyhawks offense finally clicked, sending a barrage of 30 total shots and 13 shots on goal. Lorenz Guintini, in just his fifth career match, torched the Nighthawks for a hat-trick while also supplying an assist for 10 of Fort Lewis' 25 total points. Andreottola poured in four assists, Stracher scored his second goal in as many games, and Fabrizio Aguilera, Francisco Pinto, and Mathias Valverde all found the back of the net, including two goals for Pinto.

CSU Pueblo (3-0-3) is the only other team from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference on the poll, with the ThunderWolves sliding down to No. 8. As for the South-Central region, St. Mary's (1-1-3) moved down to No. 25, and St. Edward's (2-1-2) is still receiving votes.

Fort Lewis will close out its non-conference schedule this week with a pair of rematches from the 2024 NCAA national tournament. The Skyhawks will head to Mountain Lion Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo., to face UCCS (1-2-3) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, before heading over to Pueblo, Colo., on Sunday, Sept. 28, for a 1 p.m. matinee in Art and Lorraine Gonzales Stadium against CSU Pueblo.

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