COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – South Dakota Mines Soccer and Fort Lewis went to penalty kicks in the RMAC Tournament Quarterfinals, but the Rockers fell 4-3 in penalties, ending their historic season.
Fort Lewis applied pressure through the majority of the first half, picking up 11 shots in just over 38 minutes. The Skyhawks converted their first goal in the 39th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
Erik Catanon and Shon West both had shots saved in the 41st minute as the Hardrockers went into halftime down by one goal.
Both teams traded shots to start the second half before Fort Lewis made the score 2-0 in the 54th minute.
Just two minutes later, Parker Yocom found Shon West to cut the lead in half. It was West's first goal and 12th point of the season, while Yocom tallied his third assist.
South Dakota Mines kept applying pressure as the Hardrockers recorded five more shots before tying the game in the 79th minute. Dykstra scored off a rebound as Rawley Ford had the assist. Dykstra picked up his second goal of the year, and Ford collected his first assist of 2023.
Even though the Hardrockers put on six shots in the last eight minutes of regulation, the Fort Lewis defense stood tall as both teams headed to overtime.
Ford had a shot on goal saved in the 94th minute as both teams applied shots off target. They remained tied at the end of overtime to force penalty kicks.
The Rockers shot first as both teams made the first two penalty kicks. Lucas Miranda and Ethan French both missed their shots as the Skyhawks made four to win on penalties 4-3.
Ford led the Rockers with four shots and two shots on goal. Zach Peroff, Wyatt VanHorn and West all had three shots. Claudio Otto made five saves in net for the Hardrockers.
As a team, the Rockers put up 21 shots and seven shots on goal.
South Dakota Mines' season has come to an end with the loss. In 2023, the Hardrockers set new records, including a program-best 8-5-5 overall record. They also went 4-4-2 in RMAC play. Head coach Teren Schuster has totaled 15 wins in his first two seasons as the head coach of the Hardrockers.
What's next
The All-RMAC honorees will be announced later this week, followed by the D2CCA All-Region winners.
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