SoccerBlogs

The Regis University men's soccer team didn't have to spend too much time smarting from the first loss of the season.

A day after falling to the Colorado School of Mines in the finals of the RMAC tournament, the Rangers (17-1-1) received a No. 1 seed into the NCAA Division II tournament.

Mines, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament champions, grabbed the second seed from the region.

The Fort Lewis Skyhawks and the Metro State Roadrunners played some of the most entertaining games in the RMAC this fall. Each one was nervy and draws always looked likely.

Sunday was no exception as the two teams played 110 scoreless minutes before penalty kicks decided who would advance to the next round in the NCAA Division II women's soccer championship.

Fort Lewis College head men's soccer coach Oige Kennedy was named the 2011 NSCAA/MONDO National Coach of the Year for NCAA Division II, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced last week at its annual convention and awards banquet.

"Recognition by your peers is always special," said FLC Director of Athletics Gary Hunter.

Fort Lewis College men's soccer coach Oige Kennedy announced that English-born player Sameth Al-Basith has enrolled in classes this semester and has joined the Skyhawks in their defense of the NCAA Division II national championship.

"Sameth is a player that we are extremely excited to add to our roster for the upcoming spring," said Kennedy, who guided the Skyhawks to their third NCAA Division II title since 2005 last month.

Megan Striedel headed a perfectly-placed corner kick into the center of the net with 2:37 remaining to lift No. 18 Fort Lewis (6-0-1 overall, 3-0-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) to a 2-1 win over a spirited Colorado Mesa (3-4-0, 2-1-0) squad Wednesday at Dirks Field.

"I knew it was obviously going to be a very tough game," said FLC head coach Damian Clarke.

Megan Striedel scored a pair of goals and Emma Cannis notched three assists as No. 3 Fort Lewis (5-0-1 overall, 2-0-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) defeated Nebraska-Kearney (2-4-0, 0-2-0) 4-2 Sunday at Dirks Field.

Forward Hayley Hollenga — FLC's career leader in goals (36), assists (25), and total points (97) — had a goal and an assist on a day that saw her accept an award as the fan choice for best Skyhawk player ever at the school's Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony and All-Century Team celebration.

Fort Lewis scored in the second minute, added some second half insurance, then withstood a furious rally to defeat No. 8 Colorado Mines 2-1 on Sunday at Dirks Field.

Freshman Kosta Kordistos started the scoring early, slipping a shot past CSM goalkeeper Manville Strand and inside the far post just 1:43 into the game.

Jordan Alexander scored twice and Thomas Hoang added a goal and an assist as Fort Lewis defeated Montana State-Billings 3-0 at Dirks Field in the season opener for both teams.

After a scoreless opening frame, Alexander and Hoang worked some give-and-go magic early in the second stanza to give FLC a 1-0 lead.

The Fort Lewis College women's soccer team is ranked No. 7 in the preseason NCAA Division II poll, with Regis University sneaking into the rankings at No. 22.

The Skyhawks were ranked in 11 of the NSCAA's 12 national polls in 2010, attaining a program-high No. 3 ranking. FLC finished No. 7 in the final poll of the season.

Three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference players were named first team All-Americans, and a total of seven players from the conference made it on to one of the three teams.

Midfielders Chike Sullivan, from Colorado School of Mines, and Steven Emory, from Metro State College of Denver, along with Mines forward Tesho Akindele made the first team.

Chorley FC recently signed former Fort Lewis College All-American John Cunliffe to a professional contract.

Chorley in Lancashire, England, competes in the Division One North of the Northern Premier League.

"John came highly recommended," said Chorley manager Garry Flitcroft. "He was at Manchester United as a kid before moving to America, where he played for several clubs, including MLS teams the San Jose Earthquakes and Chivas USA.

Players from Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools dominated the NSCAA/Performance Subaru's Central region men's soccer teams that were rolled out on Monday.

Colorado School of Mines and Regis University each had five players on the first and second teams. Fort Lewis College and Metropolitan State College of Denver each had four players on the two teams.

The Fort Lewis College women's soccer team (17-2-1 overall) earned the top seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region and will host first- and second-round playoff games on Friday and Sunday.

The Skyhawks are just one of five RMAC teams among the 48 sides in the women's championship.

Metro State (12-5-2) and Colorado Mines (11-6-3) will face each other in a first round game at 2 p.

Regular season action in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference drew to a close on Sunday as teams made a final stab for playoff position.

Mines 1, CSU-Pueblo 0: The Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team closed out the 2010 regular season with a 1-0 victory in RMAC women's soccer action against CSU-Pueblo on Sunday afternoon at the CSM Soccer Stadium.

Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, will host the women's soccer championships Nov. 5-7, 2010, RMAC Assistant Commissioner Eric Danner announced Monday.

The Skyhawks lead the RMAC with a 9-1-1 conference record, one point ahead of Regis University.

The RMAC is in the second year of a pilot program in which the host of the conference championship in women's soccer is named two to three weeks in advance.

The Metro State women's soccer team dropped eight spots from No. 3 to No. 11 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II top-25 poll released on Tuesday.

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opponent Fort Lewis moved up to No. 8 and Colorado Mines jumped into the top-25 at No.

Fort Lewis College took a significant step toward taking command of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference on Sunday, while challenger Regis University fell and defending champion Metro State won.

Colorado School of Mines, which shares the RMAC lead with the Skyhawks, was idle on Sunday.

Drained and looking dead after an overtime loss on Wednesday, the Metro State Roadrunners came to life on Friday reeling the Colorado School of Mines and throwing the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference race wide open.

Mired in a two-game winless streak in conference play for the first time since 2001, the 'Runners used goals from three different players and two assists from Ashley Nemmers to stun the Orediggers 3-0 at Auraria Field.

Fort Lewis did just enough to beat Colorado-Colorado Springs and take a share of the lead in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference women's soccer standings.

Midfielder Sara Egbom's free kick from 30 yards out in the 15th minute slipped through the hands of Mountain Lion goalkeeper Kelly Schroeder into the side netting as No.

Fort Lewis came to Alamosa far from the dominating team of 2009, but the Skyhawks quickly showed signs of their old ways.

The Skyhawks improved to 4-3-0 overall and 3-0-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a commanding 6-0 victory over the Grizzlies on Friday afternoon. With the loss, the Grizzlies fell to 0-6-0 on the season, 0-3-0 in the RMAC.

Adams State never recovered from a penalty kick goal in the opening 20 minutes, and fell to Mesa State 3-0 on Friday. Three players scored their first goals of the season as Mesa State got its first conference win of 2010.

The Mavericks improved to 3-4-1 overall, 1-3-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

It took extra time on Saturday, but the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks picked up the team's third national title since 2005.

Berekk Blackwell delivered a header off a Joey Madigan corner kick that gave Fort Lewis a 3-2 victory over Lynn about 90 seconds into the first overtime of the NCAA Division II men's soccer championship in Pensacola, Fla.

After playing even for a half, Fort Lewis College erupted for three second-half goals and cruised to a 4-1 win over the Colorado School of Mines in Golden on Friday.

The Skyhawks scored first when Artur Piperkov connected for his first goal of the season 10 minutes into the match. Piperkov banged his shot in from 15 yards out.

Fabian Kling scored two first half goals to propel No. 3 Fort Lewis to a 3-0 win over Colorado Mesa Wednesday at Dirks Field.

"It's a tough couple of day stretch for us," said soccer coach Oige Kennedy of his Skyhawks' run of four games in eight days. "We got off on the right foot. If we can keep our home record strong, then it's going to be a good year for us.

Fort Lewis College showed that the defending National Champions have not lost all their bite, upending Mesa State College 3-0 on Wednesday.

The Skyhawks improved to 3-3-0, 2-0-0 in the RMAC with the win. The Mavericks dropped to 4-3-0, 0-3-0 RMAC with the loss.

"We played very well tonight," head coach Oige Kennedy said after the win.

Fort Lewis scored three times in a 56-second span to establish a new NCAA Division II record for fastest three consecutive goals by one team in a 6-1 victory over Adams State Friday at Dirks Field.

"It's something that we've been threatening to do all year, to start that way," coach Oige Kennedy said.

The 18th-ranked Colorado School of Mines men's soccer team picked up its first win of the season posting a 1-0 victory over the reigning National Champion, Fort Lewis College Skyhawks on Friday afternoon at the CSM Soccer Stadium.

The win snapped Fort Lewis' 21-game winning streak dating back to Sept.

No. 3 Fort Lewis (4-0-1) scored early and often in trouncing Colorado State-Pueblo (3-2-0) 5-0 Friday at Dirks Field in the league opener for both teams.

Midfielder Julia Thompson scored the first two goals of her career — one coming in the waning moments of each half — as the Skyhawks dominated possession and shots 21-5 and shots on frame 13-2.

An own goal scored when Sara Egbom's shot deflected off of an opposing defender with 1:44 remaining in regulation lifted No. 7 Fort Lewis (2-0-0 overall) to a 2-1 win over Augustana (S.D.) (0-2-0).

"I was hoping we would have a tough game on this trip," said fifth-year FLC head coach Damian Clarke, whose team beat St.

If you like chilly and windy, Michigan is fantastic for a weekend on a soccer field. Otherwise, it's an inhospitable place for visitors.

The Fort Lewis College Skyhawks discovered this the hard way on Sunday as the host and defending national champions Grand Valley State University Lakers thumped the visitors from Durango 5-0.

The Fort Lewis College women's soccer team continued its run in the NCAA Division II tournament, coming from behind Friday morning to defeat Winona State 2-1.

Hayley Hollenga scored a goal and added an assist for No. 3-ranked Fort Lewis (18-2-2), which advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Skyhawks will face No.

No. 12-ranked Fort Lewis College women's soccer team defeated Mesa State College 2-0 Wednesday as Elena Benavides and Emma Cannis provided the scoring punch.

"Mesa's good — much better than their record (2-4-1 overall, 0-3-0 in the RMAC)," said head coach Damian Clarke.  "They had the run of the game for long periods of the first half.

Fort Lewis College women's soccer player Hayley Hollenga will be among this week's "Faces in the Crowd," a popular feature listing top amateur athletes in "Sports Illustrated."

Women's soccer coach Damian Clarke said the award is special "considering how hard Hayley has worked at athletics, being a former two-sport college athlete in basketball as well as soccer, coming back from a broken leg in 2008, and getting her team off to such a great start.