Box Score Durango, Colo. – The NMHU Cowgirl Soccer team succumbed to their first defeat of 2013 at the hands of NCAA DII no. 5 Fort Lewis College, by the final score of 2-1. The first half was scoreless but the Skyhawks were on the attack from the get-go. The Skyhawks broke the scoreless tie with a 54th minute goal. The Cowgirls evened things up at 1-1 with a goal in the 62nd minute. Fort Lewis found the winning goal in the 67th minute with a free kick from 30 yards out. The Cowgirls, led by Head Coach
Justin Wagar, drop to 1-1-0 in the RMAC with a 3-1-2 record in overall play.
FLC 2 – NMHU 1
The Skyhawks came out with all guns firing at the beginning of the match. They took five shots in the first 11 minutes of play and were looking to take the early lead. Luckily the Cowgirls' defense stood strong and kept the Skyhawks from finding the net for the entirety of the first half of play. Fort Lewis would outshoot the Cowgirls 9-1 in the first half and Cowgirl goalie
Nikita Rivera had four saves in the half.
The Skyhawks opened the scoring up with a goal in the 54th minute of the game. Fort Lewis' Brooke Milliet received a cross from Sam Weiss and put into the back of the net, giving the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead.
The Cowgirls responded with a goal of their own in the 62nd minute. Attacking midfielder
Andrea Duke fired a shot at the goal and hit the post. Cowgirl forward
Grace Thompson was there to pounce on the rebound and chipped the ball over the goalie into the back of the net, equalizing for the Cowgirls (1-1).
Fort Lewis scored what would prove the winning goal in the 67th minute. After a foul by NMHU, Fort Lewis' Nicole Schumacher stepped up to take a free kick from 30 yards out. Schumacher kicked the ball and the shot sailed toward goal, slipping through Cowgirl goalie
Kayla Clarke's hands. The free kick goal gave Fort Lewis a 2-1 lead.
The Cowgirls had two more clear chances on goal in the game. In the 72nd minute,
Grace Thompson's shot was blocked by the Fort Lewis Defense. Then in the 83rd minute,
Jasmine Waugaman had a clear chance that was saved by the Skyhawk goalie. When the final horn was sounded to end the game, the fifth ranked Skyhawks had come away with a close 2-1 victory on their home pitch.
"I'm proud of how our girls played. We held the fifth ranked team in the nation scoreless in the first half and then we scored the only goal they have conceded so far this year," noted Coach Wagar. "It was a close game. Our defense played well and our team had chances to tie this up. The girls really battled against a top ranked opponent and played a hard fought game."
The Cowgirls will return home this weekend, Sept. 27 & 29, for conference showdowns with Colorado Christian University and Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Colorado Christian will come to Perkins Stadium on Friday, Sept. 27, at 7:00 p.m. The Cougars are currently sitting in fifth place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, just one spot ahead of the Cowgirls, with a 1-1 conference record and 4-2 in overall play.
The Cowgirls will face off against the Roadrunners of Metro State University on Sunday, Sept. 29, at 2:00 p.m. at Perkins Stadium. The Roadrunners are ranked fourth in the RMAC with a 2-0 conference record and 4-0-2 in overall play.
The Cowgirls are looking for a good home crowd as they strive for their second conference win of the season. Come on out to Perkins Stadium to catch the excitement of Cowgirl Soccer live.
GO COWGIRLS!!!
