Back on nearly hallowed ground, the Metro State women’s soccer team returns to Auraria Field on Friday to play West Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament.
In their previous outing, the Roadrunners lost to Fort Lewis, ending Metro State’s streak of 61 consecutive home wins.
“When you’ve gone five years without losing at home, I think a bigger deal is made of it than needs to be,” said Metro State coach Danny Sanchez. “We lost to a good team, and on the flip side we didn’t play bad. How it affects us this weekend? I don’t think it really does. We’ve talked all year about how it is going to be a battle all year. In the past, maybe we were a little spoiled. In all the close games, we always won.”
Sanchez is 107-7-5 in five seasons with the Roadrunners and won the 2004 national title.
Metro State (19-2) has nine seniors, leaving Sanchez emphasizing a “win now” mentality.
“I think there is a sense of urgency that we’re trying to instill, really, in the younger players,” he said. “Sometimes, especially with our success, they kind of expect to be here. Fortunately, we’ve been at this point the last five years, but there’s no guarantee in the future.”
Metro State is led by two-time RMAC player of the year Kylee Hanavan, a senior from Northglenn, and all-RMAC selections Kira Sharp, Nicole Cito (a defender from Dakota Ridge High School) and Rachel Zollner (a goalkeeper from Lone Tree who transferred from Stanford).
“Incredible season”
The Fort Lewis men’s soccer team opens defense of its Division II championship Friday against Metro State at Dirks Field in Durango. The Skyhawks (18-1) reloaded despite losing seven players to graduation.
“We’ve had an absolutely incredible season, one that people couldn’t really expect when you consider how many players we lost,” said Fort Lewis coach Jeremy Gunn. “To do what we’ve done so far is incredible. I don’t feel so bold as to say we’re building toward defending the title, because the truth is we’re in a 32-team knockout. After Friday, 16 teams will be left and we might be one of them, we might not. But we’re playing well and we’re confident.”
The Skyhawks will meet the Metro State men for the fourth time this season. Fort Lewis won the previous meetings 6-0, 2-0 and another 2-0 shutout Sunday in the championship game of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s tournament.
Gunn said Fort Lewis’ Tom Donley, a senior from Douglas County High School, made “four world-class saves” on Sunday. “It was the best game in 15 years I’ve ever had a goalkeeper have for me. So there’s absolutely nothing taken for granted. There’s an awful lot of respect for the team we’re playing.”
Fort Lewis star John Cunliffe improved his skills in the offseason, then led the RMAC with 26 goals and 13 assists for 65 points in 19 games.
Going bowling
A 28-25 loss to much- improved New Mexico Highlands last week in Durango likely cost the Fort Lewis football team a berth in the Division II national tournament.
The top six teams from four regions qualify, and the Skyhawks (6-4, 6-2 RMAC) fell from sixth to ninth in their region.
The season is not over, however, for the Skyhawks. As the second-place team in the RMAC, Fort Lewis qualified for the Dixie Rotary Bowl on Dec. 2 in St. George, Utah. The Skyhawks will play Dixie State College of St. George, a former junior college recently upgraded to Division II status. The bowl game has been played the last 20 years.
