A good run
Looking back on the FLC men's storied 2005 soccer season
One of the most exciting moments in Durango sports history occurred 20 years ago, on Dec. 4, 2005, when the Fort Lewis College Men’s Soccer Team won the NCAA Division II Championship.
The FLC men came to prominence in the late 1990s. Under the leadership of head coach Jeremy Gunn, who was hired in 1999, and his assistants, Darren Morgan, Andy McDermid and Jimmy Hall, the team not only won the championship in 2005 but was runner up in the 1999 and 2006 tournaments as well.
Gunn left in 2006 for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and in 2011, became head coach at Stanford, where he coaches to this day. At FLC, Coach Ogie Kennedy went on to lead the team to 2009 and 2011 NCAA championship titles with identical season records of 24-1-0.
However, the 2005 team was special – and not just for going undefeated with a 22-0-1 record (the single tie coming against Colorado School of Mines). The players were committed to excellence and driven, some say, by a maniacal Coach Gunn.
The roster consisted of locals Adam Beach, Nick Clark, Kyle Fredrick as well as others from all corners of Colorado, Washington, Texas, New Mexico, California and Wyoming. It also had its share of foreign players, a trend that continues to spread to all levels of the game.
Boosters would travel miles to local games and far-flung games in Texas such as Austin, Lubbock and San Antonio to show their support.
It was an unbelievable feat as the team entered the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) tournament undefeated. There, they beat Colorado State Pueblo 6-0, then Colorado School of Mines, 3-0.
Entering the NCAA playoffs, the Skyhawks’ high ranking gave them home field advantage. They used that to defeat School of Mines once again, this time gaining a much tougher 1-0 result.
The Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros came calling the next week, led by their prodigious scorer Kai Kamara. Kamara went on to enjoy a long career in the MLS, as well as stints overseas and with the Sierra Leone national team. The Skyhawks won again with a 3-2 nailbiter.
Perhaps the most infamous incident on the pitch for the Skyhawks occurred well into the game when a streaker sporting nothing but a T-shirt over his face and a Jose Cuervo bucket hat appeared from the north end and ran straight down the middle of the field. Incredibly, the officials seemingly didn’t know what was going on as play continued. The roughly 2,500 fans were aghast and amused, while the Toros players and bench were screaming foul. The streaker escaped over the south fencing, never to be seen again.
A mini brawl ensued between players as time ran out. Toros fans were incensed, prompting a Durango Herald headline to read “Soccer match marred by hooliganism.” Letters to the editor from disappointed Cal State fans painted FLC fans as “hooligans.”
The NCAA Finals were held in Wichita Falls, Texas, on the campus of Midwestern State University. Fort Lewis first faced Lynn College, from Florida, a frequent contender for the championship crown. Fort Lewis came out on top of a wild scoring night, 6-4.
In the final game, the Skyhawks faced another perennial soccer power, Franklin Pierce University – a school in New Hampshire named after the 14th U.S. President. On a chilly December day, the Skyhawks prevailed 3-1 on goals from Cliff Wilmes, a winning goal by Ben Gantenbein and an insurance goal by Cole Sweetser. The team came home to a rousing reception from the community.
As was the case with this team, the championship season was preceded by a trip overseas to England to play a number of games against junior clubs. The highlight was the team taking in a professional match between West Ham and Preston (in the Champions League at the time).
The statute of limitations has likely passed to reveal that two fathers travelling to meet the team – Bill Boyer and myself – having arrived late to the game, snuck through a closing door and into the stadium. In an overwhelming sea of fans, they bumped into another father, Harry Sweetser, who directed them to where the team was sitting.
After the 2006 season, the prolific scorer for FLC, John Cunliffe, was selected seventh in the MLS draft by Chivas USA. During the 2005 season with Fort Lewis, he scored 20 goals with 22 assists. He was named NCAA player of the year in 2006 and an NCAA All-American in 2005, along with Cole Sweetser, Bryan Eisenbraun and Nick Clark. Cunliffe holds the all-time RMAC and FLC records for career assists (62) and total points (212).
A personal note needs to be expressed to the recently departed Jackson Clark and his former wife, Rose Ornella, Nick Clark’s parents. Our son was a backup goalkeeper during the years that Nick played goalie. Our families set that competition aside because, in our minds, it wasn’t a competition when each family embraced the moment for what turned out to be an amazing journey. The Jacksons were always welcoming and funny. We all understood that this was a magical moment we may never experience again. ■