DENVER – Vilhjalmur Kaldal and Michael Jimenez helped the Regis University men's soccer team (8-7-1, 4-5 RMAC) pick up a crucial 2-1 conference win over the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks (7-8-1, 4-5 RMAC) on the Regis Match Pitch Friday afternoon, keeping their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament hopes alive.
 
How It Happened: It did not take long for the home team to get on the board as Kaldal received the ball and weaved in and out of the Skyhawks defense, opening a shooting lane, driving a low shot into the lower left corner of the net past the FLC goalkeeper. Kaldal's ninth goal of the season put the Rangers in front 1-0 and gave them some room to work. A few minutes after the goal from RU, the Skyhawks put three-straight shots on goal, but graduate student goalkeeper Tim Dolan stopped all three shots from finding the back of the net. This turned out to be an indication of what we would see all match long from Dolan who finished the first half with six saves and holding FLC scoreless.
 
In the second half, the Skyhawks got the first scoring chance but Dolan made another great save to keep out the shot. In the 51^st minute, senior Parker Klein had a shot clank off the woodwork, narrowly missing an opportunity to extend the lead. Dolan was forced to make another difficult save in the 63^rd-minute with an attacker bearing down on him with no defenders to help. The save gave RU a chance to counterattack, and on the rush the ball found the feet of graduate student Jean Carre who crossed his pass to the far post where senior Michael Jimenez put a strong header attempt into the back of the net, extending the Regis lead to 2-0.
 
In the 78^th-minute, the visiting team was awarded a penalty kick after a Rangers defender was called for holding an FLC attacker in the box as he was looking for a shot. The call came late and set up a big chance for the Skyhawks to cut into the two-goal lead. FLC converted on the penalty kick opportunity, bringing the score to 2-1 with RU in front. Less than a minute later, a defensive zone turnover put a Skyhawks attacker one-on-one with Dolan who, once again, came to the rescue with a game-saving stop. Regis looked to possess the ball and run out the clock with only five minutes to go, but FLC got one more opportunity that Dolan met with his hand and sent over the crossbar for his tenth save of the match. The Rangers held on and closed out the game for a massive 2-1 win over the Skyhawks, keeping RU's tournament hopes alive.
 
Game Notes: Jimenez scored his second goal of the season in this game which turned out to be the game-winner in the end. Kaldal netted his ninth goal of the season which ranks second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The story of the match was the play of Regis' goalkeeper, Tim Dolan, who came away with a career-high 10 saves in the match, saving a number of difficult one-on-one chances deep in the box.  He finished with a .909 save percentage with only one goal against and 10 superb saves.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Regis University men's soccer team will wrap-up the regular season with a match against the Adams State University Grizzlies (2-14, 1-8 RMAC) which will be a deciding factor in the Rangers RMAC Tournament hopes. The match will kick-off at 2 p.m. on the Regis Match Pitch.