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Skyhawks headed to Final Four
The top-ranked Fort Lewis College men’s soccer team is headed to Tampa, Florida, for the Final Four to try to claim the NCAA Division II title for the second time in school history. The Skyhawks defeated No. 15 Cal State-Dominguez Hills 1-0 on Sunday afternoon in Durango.
The Skyhawks put on quite a show for roughly 1,600 fans, from a clutch goal to a saved penalty kick.
After a scoreless first half, Euan Purcell put the Skyhawks on the board with his 19th goal of the season. Purcell took a through-ball from Tom Settle, beat a couple of defenders then fired a shot past Toros goalkeeper Markus Dickerson. The assist was Settle’s 21st of the season, tops in Division II.
After a Toro player was taken down in the box later in the second half, Kevin Gallaugher had a chance to put Dominguez Hills on the scoreboard with a penalty kick. Gallaugher placed his shot at the bottom right of the goal, and Fort Lewis goalkeeper Zane Wells guessed correctly. Wells dove, got a hand on the ball and kept it out of the net to preserve the one-goal advantage.
The Toros outshot the Skyhawks 12-8 but were never able to find the back of the net. Wells was named tournament MVP after making six saves to Dickerson’s two. Purcell and Abdel Becerra each had two shots.
Purcell, Settle and Kyle Wood were selected to the all-tournament team, along with Dominguez Hills’ Dickerson, Scott Mariano and Greg Piechota.
Fort Lewis (22-1-0) will take on Le Moyne (17-2-2) on December 3 in one of the semifinal matches in Tampa. The winner will advance to the national title game on December 5. Dominguez Hills finished the season at 18-6-1.
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