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'Runners fail test vs. defending champs
By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

Photo by Chuck Iversen • civerse1@mscd.edu Metro defender Garrett Sadusky (#6) struggles to maintain possession of the ball during their game against Regis on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at Regis University. Metro, however, did not struggle to win the game, as the Roadrunners scored three goals and shut out the Rangers 3-0.

Conference play started for the men’s soccer team Aug. 30 and the Roadrunners used two goals by forward Shaun Elbaum to shut out Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival Regis University, 3-0.

The scoring began quickly when Elbaum nailed his second goal of the year in the sixth minute off an assist from midfielder Kellen Johnson and defensive back Jimmy Kunclrs.

Elbaum led the Roadrunners (2-2, 1-1 RMAC) in game-winning goals last season with five, and looks primed to knock in many more as the season goes on.

Midfielder Antonio Porras, Metro’s all-time leader in career points (102) and career assists (30), scored his first goal of the new season. He only needs four more to become Metro’s all-time career leader in goals scored. Jared Zanon currently holds the school mark with 39 goals scored from 1996 to 1999.

Goalkeeper Ryan Vickery barely broke a sweat, saving just one shot on goal and watching three others veer past the net. It was Vickery’s second win of the year, and his second shutout in two games.

“I think we worked hard in preseason to become more organized in the back,” assistant head coach Clint Corzatt said about the two shutouts. “We need to continue the organization and the communication because it is a collective effort with the 10 guys in front of the goalkeeper.”

Metro’s stingy defense didn’t hurt the team either. The ‘Runners allowed just two shots on goal in the two shutouts, and forced opponents to make bad shooting decisions.

Instead of setting up shots with passing and strategy, Regis was forced to either shoot quickly or lose the ball to Metro’s swarming defenders.

The following game, the Roadrunners took on defending NCAA Division-II Champion, Fort Lewis College.

The game was a possible RMAC championship match preview between the two top-rated schools.

Fort Lewis was chosen with five votes as the preseason favorites in the 2006 RMAC Preseason Poll. Metro was chosen second with two votes. Over 650 fans attended the game.

But it didn’t live up to its hype as Metro was overmatched in a 6-0 rout in Durango.

The shutout was the fourth in a row for Fort Lewis, who has not given up a goal since the season’s start.

They have only allowed 32 shots on goal this season, including the 14 by Metro on Sunday. On the other hand, the Skyhawks have put up 63 shots while scoring 22 goals on the year.

“We didn’t come ready to play,” Metro defender Kyle Borkowski said. “We went down three goals in the first 15 minutes, but it was only (the) fourth game of the year and we will come out ready on Friday.”

Metro was pushed around early as the defense gave up two goals in the first 12 minutes and went on to allow three more goals in the first half.

“Once they scored their first goal, we kind of put our heads down,” midfielder Philip Owen said. “We kind of sulked a bit and we never recovered after that.”

With a secure lead, Fort Lewis stacked their defense five and six deep to keep Metro’s offense at bay. The Roadrunners were forced to bring extra attackers, but the Skyhawks’ deep defense forced too many errors and turnovers for the ’Runners to overcome.

Fort Lewis forward John Cunliffe and Metro midfielder Antonio Porras were both named to the 2006 Preseason All-RMAC Team, and went head to head to show off their talents.

Cunliffe outshined Porras, scoring two goals and assisting on three others. Cunliffe was also named RMAC Player of the Week for his performance last week scoring 12 points in two games.
Porras contributed four shots but none were on goal.

“We need to put it in the back of (our) heads but we cannot forget it,” Corzatt said. “One of the quotes I like best is ‘those who don’t learn from history are doom(ed) to repeat it.’”

The Roadrunners head to Golden Sept. 8 to take on Colorado School of Mines (1-2-1, 0-1-1 RMAC), and return home Sept. 9 to host The Master’s College (1-1) at Auraria Field.