DURANGO, Colo. — No. 1 Fort Lewis (14-1-0 overall, 9-1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) responded from its only loss of the season two days ago to defeat Regis (9-3-1, 6-3-1) 4-0 today at Dirks Field.

 

“The one thing today spoke to was how strong our bench is,” said third-year FLC head coach Oige Kennedy. “It’s great to see the whole squad stand up together and be committed to what we’re trying to achieve.”

 

The Skyhawks were without the services of three regulars and had another battling illness today. Fabian Kling (knee), Kostas Kordistos (knee), and Thomas Hoang (red card suspension) didn’t dress for the game, while Jordan Alexander saw limited action due to an illness.

 

After a back-and-forth first 37 minutes, hard work paid off for a blue-collar type of goal for FLC in the 38th minute. Alberto Capdepon-Rodriguez played a ball to Artur Piperkov on the left flank. Piperkov, in turn, floated a crossing pass that found the head of Aaron Kloer, whose header was nearly saved by RU goalkeeper Ben Sabados. As the ball trickled toward the goal line, Derek Freeman finished it into the open net for his fifth goal and fourth game-winner of the year.

 

A pretty two-on-one in the 50th minute gave Fort Lewis a 2-0 edge. Casey Dean broke free on the right side and played the ball forward into space, which Joey Madigan ran onto. He side-stepped the keeper and blasted a shot toward the goal that glanced off a Regis defender at 49:30.

 

“What was really pleasing today was how well Casey Dean did,” said Kennedy. Dean, who has saw spot starting assignments at forward and outside midfielder this year, made the most of his opportunity in Hoang’s absence. “He was very strong up top and got two assists. He was a bit unlucky not scoring a goal.”

 

Fort Lewis’ third goal was a thing of beauty. Capdepon-Rodriguez drilled a 20-plus-yard shot past the Regis wall into the upper 90 on a free kick at 60:52 for his second marker of the season.

 

Alexander finished things off at 82:12 when he headed a crossing pass from Dean past Sabados to account for the final goal. He nearly added a similar score a few minutes later, heading a pass just wide of the far post.

 

The 4-0 score made the final outcome a bit more lopsided than the play on the pitch reflected. The two teams matched each other with 17 shots. The Skyhawks had a slight, 7-5 advantage in shots on goal.

 

“They’re a good side,” said Kennedy.

 

Ryan Wirth made five saves for FLC while recording his tenth shutout of the season. Fort Lewis and Wirth lead the nation in goals against average (0.33).

 

Sabados made three saves for the Rangers.

 

With three games and two weeks left in the regular season, Fort Lewis (30 points) owns a commanding eight-point lead over their closest challenger, No. 23 Colorado Mines (9-4-1, 7-3-1, 22 points). No. 18 Metro State (9-5-1, 7-4-0, 21 points), and Regis (19 points) are still mathematically alive. The magic number for Fort Lewis to clinch the regular season is two points. Three points are awarded for a victory in the league standings and one for a tie.

 

“I think we knew a win today against Regis meant a win Friday gives us the conference title,” said Kennedy. “We’re just hoping we can come out on Friday and finish it off.”

 

The Skyhawks conclude their regular season home schedule at 3:30 p.m. Friday against Colorado Christian (0-13-1, 0-10-0). They also host Colorado State-Pueblo (4-8-3, 4-5-2) at 3:30 p.m. next Sunday in the final regular season home game for Berekk Blackwell, Cory Dean, Hoang, Kling, Joey Madigan, and Markus Lux. Wirth is listed as a senior on the roster, but could return for a fifth season next year should he choose.