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FLC stuns Metro, wins conference championship in shootout
The Fort Lewis College women’s soccer team hoists the RMAC tournament trophy. (photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
DENVER — On Friday, after Fort Lewis College came from behind to win in the semifinals of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women’s soccer tournament, coach Damian Clark said his team is accustomed to playing with poise, even when trailing.
He said the Skyhawks are confident that when they play a possession game the result will turn out in their favor.
And, looking ahead to Sunday’s tournament final, he said his team enjoys playing Metropolitan State College, especially at Auraria Field.
Sunday’s match turned out just as Clark said.
Elena Benavides scored the equalizer in the 82nd minute, and tournament MVP Christine Schmelzle held high-flying Metro to one goal in three chances in the shootout as the Skyhawks, seeded third, won the RMAC playoffs.
The key play in the shootout was Schmelzle’s save on Nicole Renko in the first round. After Fort Lewis’ Jamie MacArthur buried her chance to begin the shootout, Schmelzle gave the Skyhawks the advantage by stopping Renko’s low shot toward the right of goal.
“That was just a reaction save, and I just went berserk. It was an adrenaline rush,” Schmelzle said. “I try to look at her hips, but you can’t do a lot. You just stay on your toes and react as fast as you can. I don’t like to guess either way because I think that lessens your chances, so I try to react. You don’t have a lot of reaction time, but there’s that split second. And maybe if it’s a slower kick than normal you can get there and see what happens.”
Fort Lewis’ Hayley Hollenga and Metro’s Becca Mays each scored in the second round. Then Jessica Otero took care of business against Metro goalkeeper Becca Maloney in the third round.
Metro coach Adrianne Almaraz sent Rachael Michaels to the penalty spot as the Roadrunners’ third shooter. Michaels, who didn’t play during the 110-minute match, missed the frame.
With a 3-1 lead in the shootout, all Nichole Kluk had to do to win the match for Fort Lewis was score. The RMAC defender of the year did just that, setting off an eruption from the Fort Lewis bench.
“It feels amazing because last year we didn’t win, and now we did. And we’re taking home a plate,” Benavides said. “It feels great.”
Fort Lewis forced the shootout with a long stretch of offensive pressure in the second half that culminated in Benavides’ late goal.
After Metro State set the tone in the first half, getting a goal in 12th minute on a beautiful long ball by Becca Mays that Jen Thomas, the Skyhawks took over in the second 45 minutes.
With about 25 to 30 minutes left in the match, the Fort Lewis midfield was starting to assert itself. MacArthur’s play on the flanks was forcing Metro to play wide to account for the senior from Albuquerque. That was opening up room for Benavides and Samantha Smith on the inside.
In the 66th minute, Fort Lewis got the ball to Torrey Larson in Metro’s penalty box, and she wreaked havoc. She spun and whirled with the ball, keeping it away from a host of desperate defenders. The Roadrunners didn’t let Larson get a shot, but they also couldn’t get the ball from her, creating a sense of panic along the back line, which had been well-organized until that point.
A few minutes later, Larson had another opportunity to score. This time Maloney left her line, but Larson’s angle was good enough that she was able to shoot past Maloney. A sliding block from center back Kat Gosztyla was the only thing that preserved Metro’s 1-0 lead at the time.
Fort Lewis maintained the attack, however, and broke through with a little more than 8 minutes left. Hollenga took a long throw-in from the right sideline that bounced off a couple of Metro defenders … right to Benavides.
“All I remember is the ball coming into the box, bouncing out and I ran onto it,” she said. “I think it might have hit off the defender’s hip. Hayley definitely got the assist.”
Benavides said a couple of factors gave the Skyhawks the confidence to tie the match.
“The buildup and thinking you can win, just taking it all in and thinking, ‘We can do this.’ Just knowing you can and that you want to get it,” she said. “Our coach says don’t give up, don’t get your heads down, and that’s how we took it. We’re a good team at coming back.”
For Almaraz, giving up the lead so late in the game stung.
“Within the last 20 minutes we teetered off. Maybe that’s a little bit of fitness; maybe that’s a lack of focus. But that’s something we’re going to have to address heading into the NCAA tournament,” she said. “When you’re winning 1-0 with 8 minutes left in the game, you have to defend it. You can’t let it go into overtime; you can’t let it get into PKs.”
RECORDS: The match goes in the books as a tie. Fort Lewis is now 18-2-3. Metro, the tournament’s top seed, stands at 20-1-1.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Benavides. Her goal was the reason the match reached the PK phase, and her play in the midfield — along with that of Smith, MacArthur and Erika Shisler — was the reason the Skyhawks were able to break through in the second half.
SO, DOES THE KEEPER WANT THE GAME TO GO TO PENALTY KICKS? “I hope it happens in regulation,” Schmelzle said. “But I trust my team to make their shots, and I do my job for them. So if it comes to that, we’re ready for it.”
SAVE OF THE GAME: In the 52nd minute, Mays cracked a direct free kick high and on frame. Schmelzle leaped to stop the shot, but she couldn’t control it. She and the ball both came down hard, and Schmelzle was able to cover it before it dribbled across the goal line.
OK, SO GOSZTYLA STOPPED A SURE GOAL; WHAT DID FLC’S DEFENSE DO? The Skyhawks cleared a Mays head off the goal line after a corner kick in the 56th minute.
ATTENDANCE MATTERS: The official attendance was 446.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: I was honored to be chosen for the panel that selects the all-tournament team. The final team consisted of Thomas, Maloney, Gosztyla, Ryan and Renko from Metro; Hollenga, Schmelzle, Benavides and MacArthur from Fort Lewis; Jessica Stark of the Colorado School of Mines and Chelsea Bokan of Regis University. Schmelzle was named the MVP of the competition. I also voted for Kayla Mitchell of Mines, Madison McQuilliams of Metro and Laurel Reinhardt of Fort Lewis.
FORT LEWIS STARTERS: Christine Schmelzle, Serena Mancha, Jessica Otero, Samantha Smith, Erika Shisler, Jamie MacArthur, Nichole Kluk, Michelle Felten, Laurel Reinhardt, Hayley Hollenga, Elena Benavides.
METRO STATE STARTERS: Becca Maloney, Jen Thomas, Becca Mays, Madison McQuilliams, Ashley Nemmers, Ashley Munchiando, Kat Gosztyla, Courtney Ryan, Hayley Renko, Gabby Klipp.
PICTURED IN INSERT ABOVE: Fort Lewis midfielder Samantha Smith holds the RMAC tournament trophy. (photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
SORRY FOR THE DELAY, FOLKS: ColoradoSoccerNow.com switched to a new host on Saturday, and we were still working out the bugs on Sunday. That delayed the posting of the story until late Sunday night, and it delayed the posting of the photos until Monday morning. All is well now. Jonathan Ingraham had a ton of wonderful photos, and a few are posted now.
Metro State center back Kat Gosztyla recovers from a bruising collision late regulation on Sunday at Auraria Field. (photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
George Tanner is a former writer and editor for the Rocky Mountain News; the Greeley Tribune; The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, Calif.; the Durango Herald; and the Boulder Daily Camera. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado and an affiliate professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver. E-mail him at ColoradoSoccerNow@gmail.com.
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