DURANGO, Colo. – The Westminster men's soccer team out-shot first-place Fort Lewis 13-2 in a dominant second half on Friday night at Dirks Field, but the Griffins fell 2-1 after the Skyhawks took a two-goal lead in the opening 45 minutes. Broc Underhill scored his first goal of the season, and Westminster finished with a 17-10 shot advantage over the team leading the RMAC standings.
Game Breakdown
First Half
Fort Lewis came out aggressive, putting Westminster goalkeeper Oliver Olsen to work right away. Olsen saved a Frank Castro shot just 30 seconds in and denied Johan N'Ganzadi at 11:19. The Skyhawks broke through at 13:43 when William Bretvik scored on a near-post strike from 20 yards out, assisted by Raul Baptista Filipe. Fort Lewis doubled the lead at 30:05 when Francisco Pinto finished an arcing shot to the far post, again off a Baptista Filipe assist, to make it 2-0.
Olsen kept the Griffins in the match, making two more saves just before the second goal, on Simão Agostinho (27:43) and Baptista Filipe (28:11). He finished the half with four saves, and Fort Lewis held an 8-4 shot edge through the first 45 minutes. Westminster had a few looks of its own, with Cam Neeley forcing a save from Fort Lewis goalkeeper Lucas Martin at 41:17, but the Griffins went to the break trailing 2-0.
Second Half
Westminster took control of the match after halftime, out-shooting Fort Lewis 13-2 and earning six corner kicks to the Skyhawks' two. Fort Lewis did not put a single shot on target in the second half. Underhill tested Martin early with a saved shot at 47:32, and Owen Gallo forced another save at 53:13 as the Griffins kept up the pressure.
The breakthrough came at 70:56. Parker Stebbing served in a free kick, and Underhill lunged to finish from four yards out to cut the deficit to 2-1. Westminster had a chance to level the match at 76:53 when it was awarded a penalty kick, but Martin made the save on Underhill's attempt. Martin was also shown a yellow card on the play. The Griffins kept pushing, earning back-to-back corners at 77:00 and 77:53, and Gallo forced one more save from Martin at 85:44. Fort Lewis held on for the 2-1 win.
Griffin Performances
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Broc Underhill scored his first goal of the season and led all players with six shots, three on target, over 90 minutes
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Parker Stebbing recorded the assist on Underhill's goal and added two shots
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Owen Gallo fired three shots, two on target, in 90 minutes
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Cam Neeley put a shot on goal off the bench
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Oliver Olsen made four saves, all in the first half, across the full 90 minutes
Final Stats
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Shots: Westminster 17, Fort Lewis 10
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Shots on Goal: Westminster 6, Fort Lewis 6
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Corner Kicks: Westminster 6, Fort Lewis 3
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Fouls: Fort Lewis 13, Westminster 12
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Saves: Westminster 4 (Olsen), Fort Lewis 5 (Martin)
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Offsides: Westminster 3, Fort Lewis 1
Up Next
Westminster stays on the road to face Adams State on Sunday at 11 a.m.
