Women battle to draw with Ft. Lewis

The Colorado State University-Pueblo women’s soccer team battled and scrapped its way to a 2-2 draw against the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks on Friday, earning a crucial point in the RMAC playoff race.

Fort Lewis entered the contest favored to win thanks to a 7-0 record in RMAC play.  The ThunderWolves, however, seemed determined to give the Skyhawks their first conference blemish.

The ThunderWolves came out strong and moved the ball well all over the field.  Marli Martin (Sr., West Jordan, Utah) tested the Ft. Lewis keeper in the 3rd minute with a stinging free kick, but the team didn’t muster much else offensively in the first half.  In fact, the team registered only two shots on goal in the opening period.  Despite the lack of goal-scoring chances, the women looked confident in possession and did a good job containing almost all Ft. Lewis attacks.

The visitors threatened occasionally with set pieces and the odd run in from the wing, but a bit of pressure from the ThunderWolves near the end of the half ensured that the teams entered the break locked at 0-0.

In the second half, the Skyhawks cranked up the pressure and tallied a few early shots, but it was CSU-Pueblo that looked more threatening after the break.  Kara Morton (So., Thornton, Colo.) headed the ball down to Becca Drennan (Jr., Fountain, Colo.) who then dumped it off to Rikki Warmack (Jr., Pueblo, Colo.).  The Pueblo Centennial product lashed forward a shot that was saved by the Ft. Lewis keeper at full stretch.

Moments later, Melissa Christensen (Fr., Kenosha, Wisc.) played a ball into Martin, who spun expertly on the ball before firing a shot just inches over the cross bar from six yards out.

The Skyhawks struck back on the break, though.  Chrissy Mandarich (Sr., Pueblo, Colo.) had trouble collecting a low shot, and a Ft. Lewis player poked in the loose rebound for a 1-0 lead.

The ThunderWolves equalized ten minutes later when Martin sent a high-arching free kick in towards goal.  The keeper jumped to palm the ball over the bar, but instead the ball went off her hands and into the goal.

Thirty seconds later, the momentum swung again when Ft. Lewis snuck a shot past Mandarich to re-take the lead.

Four minutes later, the game took another turn when Warmack was taken down harshly in the penalty box.  Sarah Dezeil (So., Eau Claire, Wisc.) stepped up and drilled home her first goal of the season, putting the ThunderWolves back on level terms with their highly touted opponents.

CSU-Pueblo piled home the pressure near the end of regulation in search of a winner, and Martin had two good looks on goal before Candice Duffy (Jr., Idaho Falls, Idaho) saw her shot cleared off the line with 30 seconds remaining.

The Skyhawks certainly had their chances in the first period of extra time.  After breaking in from the left wing and beating her marker, a Ft. Lewis player saw her shot go just wide.  Moments later, the Skyhawks powered a shot into the side netting, frightening both the ThunderWolves and the Homecoming weekend crowd.

In the second overtime, Ft. Lewis again had a chance to win the game when the ThunderWolves had trouble clearing a free kick out of their penalty box.  The women were eventually successful in clearing the ball, though, and held on for the draw.

The women will look for a similarly inspired performance when they play Mesa State on Sunday.  The Mavericks will enter the contest in a similar position to the ThunderWolves, and as both teams jockey for playoff positioning, the contest looks to be a sizzler.

Kickoff is set for noon at the Rawlings Complex.