Box Score
DURANGO, Colo. - Torrey Larson grew accustomed to scoring big goals in 2009, sharing the Fort Lewis College women's soccer team lead with 10 goals and netting a pair of game winners as a freshman.
The 5'6” forward from Flagstaff, Ariz., wasted little time in proving there would be no sophomore slump. In a hotly contested and physical match against St. Cloud St. today at Dirks Field, Larson won a 50/50 challenge with a central defender near the top of the box, collected the ball from after it bounced off the hands of charging SCSU goalkeeper Kenzie Hanzlik, and found the back of a wide-open with just 1:00 remaining in the second half to give Fort Lewis a season-opening 1-0 win.
“Torrey is very difficult to deal with in terms of how she uses her body to keep the ball,” said fifth-year Skyhawk head coach
Damian Clarke. “We know that when she gets to that dangerous spot, she's going to find a way to score a goal.”
Larson's marker was set up by junior defender midfielder
Sara Egbom (Albuquerque, N.M.), who had recently been inserted back into the Skyhawk lineup. “I kind of thought that Egbom would improve our sense of passing,” said Clarke.
Larson's heroics would have been moot had it not been for the spectacular play of preseason All-RMAC goalkeeper
Christine Schmelzle (Sr., Flagstaff, Ariz.), who made several big saves earlier in the game when the Huskies were controlling the play.
The visitors from Minnesota had to contend not only with the smaller, quicker Skyhawks, but with dry heat (temperatures exceeded 80 degrees on a perfectly calm and sunny day) and the Dirks Field elevation of 6,856 feet above sea level.
“I thought that this would probably be a game that we could find to win in the end if we could keep ourselves in it,” said Clarke. “These teams coming from a lower elevation, you'd like to think you can wear them out.”
The Dirks Women's Soccer Classic continues today with a matchup between Mesa State and Augustana, which began at 3:30 p.m.
The Skyhawks (1-0) face Augustana at 1 p.m. Sunday at Dirks Field. St. Cloud St. (0-1) and Mesa St. will square off at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
