DURANGO, Colo. — Josh Buysee converted a penalty kick 50 seconds into the second half to lead No. 18 Metro State (8-5-1 overall, 6-4-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) to a 1-0 upset of No. 1 Fort Lewis (13-1-0, 9-1-0) today at Dirks Field.

Metro’s T.J. Thiebaut made a run down the left flank and beat the Skyhawk defense before being fouled in the box at 45:50. Buysee shot low and to the right of FLC goalkeeper Ryan Wirth, who correctly guessed Thiebaut’s shot placement, but couldn’t reach the shot.

Despite numerous scoring chances for each team, Buysee’s penalty kick stood and the Roadrunners avenged a 1-0 loss to the Skyhawks a week ago in Denver.

“I think that was our big downfall today,” said third-year FLC head coach Oige Kennedy, who suffered just his second home loss in three seasons as the Skyhawk skipper. “We weren’t able to finish our chances. All credit to Metro, they probably outplayed us over the 90 minutes.”

The loss ended FLC’s perfect 13-0-0 start — the best in the storied history of Skyhawk soccer.

The Fort’s last national title team in 2009 — one that finished with a 24-1-0 mark — lost in its fourth game of the season.  The 2006 side that lost in the national title game and went 22-2-1 lost in its 11th game. FLC’s 2005 national title team that was a near-perfect 22-0-1 suffered a tie in its sixth outing. And the 1999 squad that lost in the national championship and went 18-3-3 actually tied in its season opener.

The Skyhawks nearly broke through at the 9:00 mark when Derek Freeman’s shot hit the post and Joey Madigan’s rebound was saved by Shailer Thomas.

Thomas would rob FLC’s Thomas Hoang three times in a 14-minute span in the second half, including one shot that he punched off the crossbar.

Thomas finished the game with seven saves — the same number as his FLC counterpart, Wirth.

Shots were relatively even, with the Roadrunners owning an 18-15 overall advantage and an 8-7 margin in shots on frame.

The game turned physical in the second half, with seven cards issued, including several for dissent and off-the-ball infractions. Hoang picked up a pair of yellow cards in a four-and-a-half minute stretch late in the game, forcing the Skyhawks to play a man down the final nine minutes. As a result, he’ll be forced to sit out FLC’s next game.

“Today’s result just makes Sunday an even bigger game than it already was,” said Kennedy. “Obviously, we want to continue winning to secure hosting the RMAC tournament, but also to put ourselves in a better position for home field advantage in the national tournament.”

The Skyhawks face another tough test in Regis (9-2-1, 6-2-1) at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The meeting between FLC and the Rangers is the only regular season game between the two schools in 2011.

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