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13 Cameron Martin vs. Adams State
Hayden Mangan, Fort Lewis Athletic Communications
Cameron Martin (13) fires up his squad following a goal against the Grizzlies in a friendly match on Dirks Field (Aug. 19, 2026)

Lubbock Christian, West Texas A&M await Skyhawks men in season-opening road trip

8/26/2026 11:00:00 AM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement
DURANGO, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College men's soccer team will kick off the 2026 campaign down in the Lone Star State with a pair of road matches at Lubbock Christian University on Thursday, Aug. 27, and West Texas A&M University on Saturday, Aug. 29.
 
Match Details
Kickoff against the Chaparrals at the LCU Soccer & Track Facility is set for 6 p.m. MST. Saturday's matinee against the Buffaloes is scheduled for 12 pm MST at The Pitch. Fans can catch Thursday's and Saturday's matches live with a subscription to FloCollege, or follow along with live statistics courtesy of Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M. Traveling fans can purchase tickets ahead of match day through LCU and WTAMU. 
 
Looking Back
Fort Lewis posted a 9-4-4 overall record in 2025 and captured a 5-3-2 record against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponents for 17 total points–good to tie for sixth in the league. However, based on head-to-head tiebreakers, the Skyhawks missed out on the postseason. Fort Lewis was 6-1-1 at home on Dirks Field, but managed a 3-3-3 mark on the road, including a two-match stint in Texas similar to this season.  
 
Former Skyhawk Alessio Andreottola became the program's seventh RMAC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, and joined Anton Hjalmarsson as the only men's soccer student-athletes in conference history to capture both awards in the same season. Andreottola also led all of Division II in total assists (17) and assists per match (1.06), and was later named to the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All-American First Team.
 
Freshman Lorenz Guintini and senior Casey Stracher joined Andreottola on the All-RMAC First-Team, D2CCA All-South Central Region First-Team, United Soccer Coaches All-South Central Region Team, and were named D2CCA Third-Team All-Americans. Guintini finished the season ranked 11th in goals scored (13), seventh in game-winning goals (5), and 15th in total points (30) across all of Division II. Stracher was recognized for his outstanding defensive ability in addition to supplying his squad with four goals and a pair of assists for 10 points.
 
Senior veteran Quinn Bosanko was the Skyhawks lone representative on the RMAC All-Academic First Team, and the Salida, Colo., native graduated with a nod to the All-RMAC Second Team as well. Fort Lewis also saw five student-athletes named to the RMAC Academic Honor Roll, including Fabrizio Aguilera, Vincent Edgell, Aidan Hartman, Billy Plett, and Darek Rittmueller. Bosanko, Aguilera, and Baptista Filipe were elevated to the College Sports Communications Academic All-District Team®. In addition, first-year standouts Raul Baptista Filipe and Francisco Pinto were tabbed Honorable Mention All-RMAC. Baptista Filipe scored one goal and notched one assist as a director in the midfield, while Pinto helped to command the offense with six goals and six assists for 18 points.
 
Fort Lewis was also a national performer in several key categories, including:
  • 3rd Shots Per Match (17.65)
  • 5th Goals Per Match (2.65)
  • 5th Points Per Match (7.76)
  • 8th Assists Per Match (2.47)
  • 8th Shots on Goal Per Match (7.65)
 
Preseason Coaches' Polls
Fort Lewis was picked third in the 2026 edition of the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, earning three second-place and two third-place votes for 75 total points. University of Colorado Colorado Springs was picked to defend its title, capturing 10 of 11 first-place votes for 100 points. Regis University took second, earning one first-place, two second-place, and three third-place votes for 85 points. Metropolitan State University of Denver came in fourth behind the Skyhawks with 71 points, followed by Colorado State University Pueblo with 63 points in fifth, and Westminster University in sixth on 61 points to round out the projected postseason field.
 
UCCS is the lone RMAC team to debut on the USC Top 25 Preseason Poll, with the 2025 RMAC Champions checking in at No. 18. Fort Lewis has one additional preseason ranked opponent on the docket in No. 3 Fort Hays State University, which captured the 2025 Great American Conference/Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship and maintained an undefeated record until falling 1-0 to Rollins College in the NCAA national semifinal. The Tigers finished with a 20-1-3 overall record. FLC and FHSU will square off in a neutral-site match on the campus of Adams State University over in Alamosa, Colo., at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6.
 
Welcome Back
Pinto and Baptista Filipe return as Fort Lewis' leading point contributors from last season following the departure of 13 Skyhawks from 2025. Former Honorable Mention All-RMAC goalkeeper Lucas Martin returns as well, alongside midfielders Fabrizio Aguilera, Jacob Ramos, and Frank Castro, who appeared in 17, 16, and 11 matches, respectively.
 
Fort Lewis also retained midfielders Jahan Sabzalian, William Bretvik, Kevin Pasinski, and Julián Rojas, goalkeeper Kellen Pierce, and defenders Chase Larson and Uriel Garcia, who all combined for 961 total minutes and did not appear in more than six matches, except for Larson's eight appearances.
 
Joining the Flight
The Skyhawks 2026 recruiting class brought in a total of 15 student-athletes, nine internationally, from the likes of Norway, Sweden, Belgium, Portugal, France, and Cyprus, in addition to stateside talents from Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. This year's class features a mix of eight defenders, three goalkeepers, and a pair of midfielders and forwards.
 
Fort Lewis didn't just bring in freshman talent, however, as six individuals made their moves to Durango from other collegiate institutions, including senior goalkeeper Fred Reiter (Western Oregon University), sophomore defender Anis Harrar (Houston Christian University), sophomore forward Simão Agostinho (William Penn University), junior defender Zachary Lanman (Mesa Community College), junior defender Alexandros Papakonstantinou (Kansas City Kansas Community College), and junior goalkeeper Xavier Rawls (Phoenix College).
 
Making their collegiate debuts this season will be defender Iver Høihjelle (Valderøya, Norway), defender Tor Dahlqvist (Karlstad, Sweden), midfielder Cameron Martin (Bountiful, Utah), defender Ulrik Roisland (Stavanger, Norway), defender Johan N'Ganzadi (Brussels, Belgium), forward Noah Bouren (Farmington, N.M.), defender Noam Maggartou (Mulhouse, France), midfielder Even Vangen (Fiskum, Norway), and goalkeeper Cooper Gunn (Edmond, Okla.).
 
Scouting the Chaparrals
Lubbock Christian enters the season as the No. 4 team in the Lone Star's Preseason Poll after posting an 8-8-4 overall record and a 5-2-3 record against conference opponents in 2025. The third-seeded Chaparrals made a run to the LSC Tournament Championship, but ultimately fell 1-0 to eventual national champions Midwestern State University.  
 
Last season, Fort Lewis escaped with a 2-1 victory over Lubbock Christian after going down 1-0 on an early 22nd-minute goal from LCU's Pedro Lucas. Thankfully, the Skyhawks found late life in the second half, equalizing on a rifle from Andreottola to the top corner in the 62nd minute before Guintini netted a striding header in the 89th minute to seal the win. FLC leads LCU 3-1 in the all-time series, having won its lone countable contest down in Lubbock, Texas.
 
In addition to Lucas, who scored three goals and assisted another in just his six starts for the year, the Chaps also return seven individuals who faced the Skyhawks last year, including junior midfielder Aron DePaula, who tallied one goal and one assist through his 18 starts and 1,616 minutes on the pitch, and junior midfielder Joao Catafesta, who leads all returners with 1,729 minutes after starting all 20 matches a year ago.
 
Offensively, Lubbock Christian ranked tenth among the Lone Star's 11 teams, boasting just 1.05 goals per match despite firing the second-most shots (265) and shots on-goal (105). The Chaps also tied for the most penalty kicks, scoring thrice on four attempts. Defense was LCU's calling card, surrendering just 18 goals against for a 0.90 goals-against average. Opponents managed just 13.0 shots and 4.6 shots on-goal per match.
 
Scouting the Buffs
West Texas A&M enters the season at No. 7 in the Lone Star's Preseason Poll following a 2025 campaign that featured a 6-9-2 overall record, 3-5-2 conference record, and a first-round exit in the LSC Tournament by way of a 2-1 decision against Lubbock Christian, who scored the heart-breaking game-winner in the 86th minute of action. It was the Buffaloes' seventh consecutive appearance in the LSC Tournament.
 
Fort Lewis and West Texas A&M last met on Sept. 15, 2024, down in Canyon, Texas, when the Skyhawks escaped with a 1-0 win thanks to a 61st-minute goal from Tomas Duenes. Both squads exchanged an even 13 shots apiece in the contest. Saturday's matinee will mark the 22nd meeting all-time between the two opponents, with Fort Lewis leading the all-time series 12-8-1 while WT leads 4-3 at home on The Pitch.
 
WT returns all four of its multi-goal scorers from a year ago, paced by Prosper, Texas native and senior forward D'Jonte Davis, who tallied six goals and two assists for 14 points across his 38 shots, 20 shots on-goal, and 1,384 minutes on the pitch last season. Senior forward Desire Essis and graduate midfielder Ben Scotford also return, having added three goals apiece as well last year. The only lingering question will be who stands between the posts for the Buffs, as seniors Bryce Cottle and Zach Kos had a near-even split in minutes and starts last season. Cottle made eight starts, allowed 13 goals (1.63 GAA), posted two shutouts, recorded 20 saves, and held a 60.6 percent save percentage. Kos registered nine starts, surrendered 10 goals (1.11 GAA), nabbed 36 saves, held three shutouts, and had a 78.3 percent save percentage.
 
The Buffaloes ranked 10th in the Lone Star with 18 goals scored and a 1.06 goals-per-match average, fired off the ninth-most shots (182), 11th-most shots on-goal (75), and ranked 10th in corners taken (64) and eighth in fouls (214). The West Texas A&M defense surrendered 23 goals (1.35 GAA), 82 corners, and two penalty kicks.
 
Back on Dirks
Fort Lewis will return home and make its 2026 debut on Dirks Field next Thursday, Sept. 3, as the Skyhawks host St. Edward's University, which debuted at No. 2 on the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll following an 8-6-4 overall record and 6-2-2 mark in LSC play last year. The match is set for 7 p.m. under the lights.
 
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