Must be something in the water. The Fort Lewis Skyhawks Men’s Lacrosse Club took down the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers and the University of New Mexio Lobos on an absolutely picturesque Easter weekend in Durango. These were the first home games of the season for the Fort after eight games on the road to start the season. They were also the first Fort Lewis games to be played at Santa Rita Park, which served as a wonderful public venue for local and casual lacrosse fans. The games were moved to Santa Rita because the brand new field complex on the FLC campus is still not ready to host games. The team will travel to Denver next weekend, and the comforts it provides for our many natives of the front range, for a game against the Regis University Rangers. Game time next Sunday, 4/7, is at 11:00am, at Regis. The Skyhawks improve to 2-8 with 5 games left, all against RMLC competition.
On Saturday Fort Lax hosted Mines, who was beat up following a hard fought 10-7 victory over Western St. The Fort came out firing, taking a 5-0 lead with an aggressive dodging offense and quality finishing inside. A 3 minute non-releasable stick penalty on FLC opened the door for Mines to get back into the game, as they scored 3 goals during the penalty and added one more as it was released. The Skyhawks responded immediately, having learned a hard lesson from their earlier loss to St. Mary’s. A five goal outburst by FLC sent the game to halftime with the Skyhawks up 10-4. Fort Lax never looked back, shutting out Mines in the second half with a dominant defensive effort, led by Senior Drew Larson who received a game ball for his efforts, as he added two goals in a dynamic performance. Grant Arthurs led all scorers with 5 goals and 3 assists, Max Segal added 5g and 2a as eight Skyhawks tallied points on the day. Mines showed a lot of pride in making the trip despite playing without two players who dislocated shoulders the night before. Good luck for the rest of the season!
Easter Sunday, UNM came to Durango in an annual D1 vs D2 RMLC showdown. Looking to avenge a fall ball defeat, the Fort was nervous after surrendering the first goal of the game just minutes into the 1st quarter. That would be the only time the Skyhawks trailed in the game, as four goals in the quarter and the shutdown defense was led by Shaun Koenig, who forced 8 Lobo turnovers in the game and added an assist in transition. A 5-0 second quarter cemented the Fort victory, but UNM held their own, matching the Fort goal for goal in the 3rd and 4th quarter. In the end, the 8-goal deficit was too much for the Lobos to overcome. The game was marked by an emphasis in ball possession by the Skyhawks, a far cry from the run and gun offense that led to an 0-8 start. Max Segal led 8 Skyawk scorers with 6 goals and 2 assists, several of them off of spectacular individual efforts in the riding game, and he received the game ball. It was great to give out game balls for the first time this season, and the outstanding efforts were truly deserving in games full of great team play. Thanks to a classy UNM squad for making the trip up on a holiday afternoon, good luck this year!
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