DURANGO, Colo. — Fabian Kling scored to goals to lead No. 3 Fort Lewis (19-1-0 overall) to a 2-1 win over No. 21 Metro State (14-6-1) today in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference men’s soccer championship game at Dirks Field.

Both of Kling’s goals came off of left-to-right corner kicks taken by Alberto Capdepon-Rodriguez. The first came at 8:05 when Kling gathered the corner and kicked it into the middle of the goal. The second came at 42:58 when he headed the corner off the top of the crossbar and just across the goal line. Kling, who missed seven games due to a knee injury before returning to the lineup in Friday’s 3-1 win over Colorado Mines, scored his fifth and sixth goals of the season.

“We did very well with them a year ago, but this year we haven’t taken as much advantage off of set pieces that we’d like,” said third-year FLC head coach Oige Kennedy, who was named RMAC Coach of the Year last week. “But when it rains it pours. We’ve put a lot of work into it and it’s nice to see the guys get some reward.”

In between the two FLC tallies, Metro State’s Marc Herschberger got the equalizer when he blasted a rebound of Andrew Mejia’s blocked shot past Skyhawk goalkeeper Ryan Wirth at 25:18. The marker was Herschberger’s seventh of the year.

He nearly tied the game a second time when he clanged a right-to-left shot off the post in the 76th minute.

Fort Lewis won both the RMAC regular season and postseason titles for the eighth time: in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2011. The Skyhawks made it a trifecta in 2005 and 2009 by winning the NCAA Division II national championship.

“Obviously, it’s a trophy that we set out to win at the start of the season,” said Kennedy. “It’s great to get the double.”

The game might not have even gone off it not for a valiant effort by Skyhawk soccer fans, student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and alumni all morning long. The pitch at Dirks Field was covered in nearly two inches of wet, heavy snow, but more than 100 turned out to help with snow removal. Best Cleaning Services and the Fort Lewis Physical Plant loaned shovels, while others brought their own from home. A couple of Skyhawk Booster Club board members even showed up with snow blowers.

Three hours later, the field, sidelines, and bleachers were cleared.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support of the community today coming out and helping us get the field ready,” said Kennedy. “We really appreciate all of the support of the Skyhawk soccer family.”

The pitch was still muddy and wet, but both teams managed to fire shots throughout. The Roadrunners outshot FLC 19-13 overall, but the Skyhawks owned an 8-2 advantage in shots on frame.

Metro State goalkeeper Shailer Thomas made six saves, while his FLC counterpart, Wirth, stopped one shot.

Kling was named Most Valuable Player of the RMAC Men’s Soccer Tournament. The complete All-Tournament Team included:

Ben Sabados, Regis UniversityPhilip Wilson, Colorado School of MinesRyan Wirth, Fort Lewis CollegeAndrew Mejia, Metropolitan State College of DenverCory Dean, Fort Lewis CollegeBrenden Hughes, Metropolitan State College of DenverJoey Madigan, Fort Lewis CollegeMarc Hershberger, Metropolitan State College of DenverAlberto Capdepon-Rodriguez, Fort Lewis CollegeShailer Thomas, Metropolitan State College of DenverFabian Kling, MVP, Fort Lewis College

NCAA Division II tournament bids for men’s and women’s soccer will be announced at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. MST, respectively, tomorrow evening. Both the FLC men’s and women’s soccer teams are expected to get bids. The announcement will be streamed at www.ncaa.com.

Should the Skyhawks host a first-round men’s game, it would be played on Thursday, Nov. 10 at Dirks Field.

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