On Nov. 24, the Mountain Lions faced off against the 6th ranked Fort Lewis Skyhawks in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The Skyhawks controlled possession during the first 30 minutes of the match, where the first goal of the match came in the 35th minute of the game scored by Skyhawks’ Jacob Ramos.
UCCS quickly responded in the 36th minute of the match with a goal by junior forward Nick Walker with an assist by senior midfielder Dani Barajas, Barajas’ shot was rebounded to Walker to give him an opportunity to kick the ball into the right side of the net for the equalizer.
In the final minute of the first half, the Skyhawks were given a free kick approximately 25 yards out of the box, which stopped the match with three seconds remaining in the first half. The Skyhawks’ Fabrizio Aguilera lined up for the shot and sent it toward the bottom right corner where the ball bounced untouched into the net to put Fort Lewis back up 2-1 going into the second.
The second half of action showcased two additional goals for Fort Lewis both scored by Anton Hjalmarsson in the 61st and 75th minutes. The first was a quick rebound off a deflected shot, which Hjalmarsson promptly sent into the net. His second goal came during a swift transition play, where he outpaced his lone defender, sprinting across open field before striking the ball past UCCS’ junior goalkeeper Soren Russell, extending the Skyhawks’ lead to 4-1.
The Mountain Lions responded with their second goal in similar fashion to their first, striking back just a minute after Fort Lewis scored. A powerful shot by Walker ricocheted off the top goalpost, landing perfectly for Barajas, who capitalized on the opportunity to narrow the gap to two with 14 minutes remaining in the match.
Despite a spirited push from the Mountain Lions in the final minutes, they were unable to make a comeback, resulting in a 4-2 victory for Fort Lewis.
“Performance couldn’t have really asked for much more to be honest the guys are outstanding,” said head coach Lewis Wilcox. “In almost every phase of the game I thought it was one of our most complete performances. We created lots of chances, we had good moments, we dominated in possession, just couldn’t quite bounce for us.”
The Mountain Lions outshot the Skyhawks with 20 to 14 shots with 11 of those shots on goal, UCCS also led in corner kicks with nine to the Skyhawks’ four.
“I think luck wasn’t quite on our side and it was tough today, it hurts to be honest but it’s a game,” said redshirt senior midfielder Lars Walczyk.
“Like Lars said, they got a little bit lucky on one or two goals that enough for them for moments and, to be fair, their goalie played amazing,” Russell said. “You know we always do what we can in our power to win and I think we did that and just didn’t get it done today.”
With the loss to the Skyhawks, this will conclude their 2024 season. Sunday’s match marks the second NCAA Tournament appearance for the Mountain Lions in program history.