2007 Season Recap

To the Fort Lewis family,

The time of year has come when the soccer players at Fort Lewis hit the proverbial links (aka get some much deserved time off) and the rest of us are looking for other hobbies like waiting for the mountain resorts to open up! There was much to speak of this season. The Fort welcomed in new men’s head coach Tim Hankinson and new assistant coach Gary Hamel. Oige Kennedy returned from Ireland to join the staff for his second season. The women’s program was blessed with the return of former men’s standout player (and former women’s assistant) Damien Clark, who is now the head coach. He is joined by fellow Fort Lewis alumni Kate Stahlin. Kate (formerly Kate Kelly) was a standout performer for the women’s team during her college career.

The women’s team lived up to the hype and picked up where they left off last season. They won the RMAC championship for the second consecutive year! Congratulations to Jamie MacArthur and Sara Egbom who were All-RMAC first team selections. Sara Egbom was also the RMAC freshman of the year. The Lady Skyhawks also placed Nichole Kluk on the All-RMAC second team. Kim Sisneros was the RMAC tournament MVP. Way to go ladies!

Once the boys took the field, they had a roller coaster ride of a season. They went from a number one national ranking to out of the top 25 and battled through the RMAC season. Early in the season frustration and speculation were amuck. The supporters quickly realized how spoiled they had become when the team lost a few games. The team showed the resilience that has made them a special group of young men carrying on a tradition of soccer excellence at the Fort. The tradition includes winning the conference tournament and advancing to the national tournament which the boys accomplished with an exceptional run at the end of the season. Looking back on the season, the team accomplished a great deal. Kieran Hall and Jeff Jennings were All-RMAC first team selections and David Oberholtzer and Tom Settle were All-RMAC second team selections. Nick Kirchof was the RMAC tournament MVP. Congratulations!

The seniors had outstanding careers and they will be missed. Congratulations for the accomplishments during the careers of Kieran Hall, David Oberholtzer, Casey Roberts, and Nick Kirchof! They can now join the ranks of Helmets! This makes for an easy segue into the next topic.

The annual New Year’s Eve trip to Las Vegas is on again! A confirmation has been received that the Ecuadorian sensation Jose Luis Chiriboga will be participating, as will Captain [Darren] Morgan who will be making the trip across the big pond from England. Last year broke records when 30 different Fort Lewis alumni made appearances!

The frenzy of ups and downs throughout the men’s and women’s seasons brought increased traffic to the www.flcsoccer.com website. The site now has over 100 registered users! Benj Frederick added new features such as the match calendar, new graphics, and a correlating women’s site [to name a few]. Both the men’s and women’s site will be undergoing continuous changes to benefit the current users and attract more users. The partnership with the women’s side of the program will help to build the family and web site. Keep an eye out for new features as they become available. Stay in touch and up to date with upcoming events at www.flcsoccer.com.

Vive le Fort!

PS: Visit the website (www.flcsoccer.com) for late-breaking news...such as Kent Stanley's resignation, announced this morning...Vegas plans...fill out Casey's survey for lights on Dirks field...etc.

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