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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
No. 18-ranked Metro State won 1-0 in overtime against No. 24-ranked Mesa State but failed to find the net in a second overtime in a 2-2 draw against No. 3-ranked Fort Lewis.
Metro out-shot Mesa 26-8 but could not find the net until the 94th minute. Metro forward Ola Sandquist scored off a rebound in the box for his seventh goal of the season to push Metro past conference opponent Mesa State in overtime Oct. 3 at Auraria Field.
"I think they were very organized for ninety minutes. It's a decent team and we had to work hard for it," Sandquist said.
Mesa State did not have a lot of chances to score, as Metro's defense allowed only eight shots and RMAC defensive Player of the Week goalkeeper Ryan Vickery made five saves.
"Our backs just stayed a lot tighter. We stayed more organized and didn't send as many people forward. We kept the ball a lot better," Metro defender Jamey King said.
Roadrunners head coach Ken Parsons saw the lack of offense in a different light.
"At the end of the game we were looking for a better shot than we probably should have been looking for," Parsons said. "Whether it's a beautiful goal or any ugly goal, we have to find a way to get the 1-0 victory."
Metro tied Fort Lewis 2-2 in a well-fought conference match two days later that included seven yellow cards and one red card at Auraria Field.
'Runners midfielder Steven Emory added his fourth goal of the season off a cross from midfielder Tyler Hambrick to open the scoring for Metro in the 18th minute. Vickery's four saves kept Fort Lewis out of the net in the first half.
Fort Lewis defender Jamie Cunningham came back to score a header goal off a corner kick in the 57th minute. The height of Fort Lewis was the main danger Metro had to watch for. The Fort Lewis team has 11 players over 6' and four over 6'4''. Metro only has four over 6' and King is the only player who is 6'4'', creating matchup problems when defending set pieces.
Metro responded less than ten minutes later off a goal from midfielder Kellen Johnson. Sandquist played a ball through to Johnson to give him a break away and his 10th goal of the season.
"I think that those two need to be on the field together for them to be successful. I think Kellen needs Ola on the field, and vice versa," Parsons said.
Fort Lewis defender Fabian Kling responded off a free kick to tie the game 2-2. Vickery made an initial save off the crossbar but Kling followed for an easy header.
"Unfortunately, we make bad decisions at times and obviously both their goals were off set pieces. Two poor decisions to foul in an area where we know, in the scouting report, that's going to be their most dangerous thing," Parsons said.
The game remained scoreless for the rest of regulation with both teams having equal chances to finish. Toward the end of regulation and throughout overtime, it started to rain and made the field very slick, but it was no excuse for Metro.
"It was raining on both halves of the field. I don't know if weather ultimately played a decision in whether or not we were going to win or they were going to win," Parsons said.
Metro defender Ryan Brooks received his second yellow and red card in the 110th minute and will have to sit out the CSU-Pueblo game Oct. 10. Johnson will have to sit out as well because he received his fifth yellow card of the season, which in the NCAA results in a missed game.
It was Metro's second overtime game of the weekend. Fort Lewis had four shots with Metro close behind at three but neither team could find the net. The game ended in a 2-2 in a huge conference rivalry.
Metro moves to 7-2-2 and 4-0-2 in the RMAC. They continue conference play at CSU-Pueblo Oct. 10 and at home against Regis Oct. 12.
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