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Rocky mountain low
'Runner revved up after RMAC upset loss
By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

Photo by Jeremy Billis • jbillis@mscd.edu From left: Defensive back Brooke Kiefer and forward Becca Mays walk off Auraria Field Oct. 28, disappointed after being upset 2-1 by Fort Lewis in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference semifinals. The No. 4-ranked ‘Runners had won the RMAC championship five years in a row and had not lost to an RMAC opponent in 68 games dating back to Oct. 26, 2001, when they lost to Regis.

The women’s soccer team loves playing in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. They had not lost a RMAC game in five years dating back to 2001, when they lost 3-1 against Regis.

On Oct. 28 Metro hoped for another RMAC win in the conference tournament, but the Fort Lewis Skyhawks did what no team could in 68 RMAC tries: defeat Metro at Auraria Field.

The Roadrunners lost 2-1, the first home game they have lost in 61 home games. The last time was when Incarnate Word beat them in September of 2002 in non-RMAC play.

“It’s like we won the World Cup,” Fort Lewis head coach Jaymee Carozza said. “A team that has been undefeated for so long on this field in this conference, and for us to come in here and beat them, it says a lot for our team and our program.”

Fort Lewis forward Kim Sisneros scored the winning goal in the 80th minute after a loose ball went airborne and was headed by both teams before it landed in front of Sisneros. She then kicked it to the left of the net, where Metro goalkeeper Rachel Zollner had no chance to make the save.

“It was really disappointing, because we haven’t lost a game here in a long time,” Zollner said. “It’s been years. I don’t think we played awful, but we definitely had our moments where we just broke down and they took advantage of it.”

Skyhawks forward Kate Mahler opened up the scoring with a hard shot into the left corner of the goal in the 16th minute. It was Mahler’s 16th goal on the season for the RMAC’s second-leading scorer.

Mahler is second to Metro’s Kylee Hanavan, who scored her league-leading 20th goal just before the end of the half. Forward Kira Sharp made a nice pass to set up Hanavan with a one-on-one chance with Fort Lewis goalkeeper Bree Baker, and Hanavan took full advantage of it to tie the game at 1-1.

Metro put up 16 shots to Fort Lewis’ six and missed many opportunities to score in the second half. In the 33rd minute, Hanavan had a point-blank shot at Baker but seemed to lose control of the ball, which Baker scooped up. A few minutes later, Sharp put a shot on goal from just outside of the goalie box that took a wicked curve and had Baker fooled, but the ball hit the left post, causing it to veer away with no rebound opportunity.

“(Fort Lewis) finished their opportunities and we didn’t,” Sanchez said. “That’s what soccer comes down to. You look at our last few games, and we’ve been kind of getting that goal, and today it just didn’t happen.”

With less than 20 minutes left in the game, both teams looked fatigued. The Roadrunners had many substitutions in the second half, including midfielder Becca Mays. The freshman had to be taken off the field despite her scoring abilities.

Metro has been a well-conditioned team, as Sanchez stresses the importance of playing hard for the full 90 minutes. That conditioning could clearly be seen on the field.

“I would say both teams worked extremely hard,” Carozza said of the two tired teams. “It was a very counteractive game on both sides of the ball. Everyone is a little fatigued right now (at this point in the season).”

Metro’s last great chance to tie the game came when a two-on-one break presented itself for Hanavan and forward Katie Kilbey. Hanavan ran past a Skyhawks defender and slid a pass through another defender to Kilbey, with only Baker standing in Kilby’s way. Kilbey took a hard shot toward the net but right at Baker, who fell on top of it for no rebound.

Baker made five saves and gave up only the one goal. Because of her great play throughout the tournament, she was named RMAC player of the tournament after Fort Lewis shut out Regis in the championship match, 1-0.

“The season’s not over,” Sanchez said. “There’s still plenty to play for at the end of the day. Our season isn’t over, and we just need to feel sorry for ourselves for a couple hours and move on.”

The NCAA Tournament awarded Metro with a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, and the ’Runners will host the first two rounds of the tournament. The ’Runners will play No. 4-seeded West Texas A&M at 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 3. If they win, the ’Runners will play the winner of the No. 2 St. Edward’s and No. 3 Central Oklahoma matchup on Nov. 5.