Hall of Fame
In 2005, the Skyhawks went 22-0-1 overall (11-0-1 RMAC), notching their first undefeated season in program history.
In addition to team captain Bryan Eisenbraun, the members of the 2005 team included Adam Beach, Jonathan Boyer, Nick Clark, Bernardo Costa, John Cunliffe, Tom Donley, John Eckhoff, Sean Flanagan, Kyle Fredrick, Ben Gantenbein, Jeremy Gunn (head coach) Jimmy Hall (student coach), Kieran Hall, Erik Hardin, Ryan Kerr, Nick Kirchhof, Taylor Lavoy, Andy McDermid (assistant coach), Scott McGinn (student athletic-trainer), Darren Morgan (assistant coach), Ryan Parsons, Carter Rice, Casey Roberts, Paul Sanchez, Cole Sweetser, Justin Valashinas, Cliff Wilmes, and Kenny Wood.
The road to a national title wasn’t a clear path. The Skyhawks played several tough games, including against Colorado School of Mines where they played the Orediggers four times that season. As the season progressed, Eisenbraun recalled the mindset of the team.
After taking it one game at a time, with a winning mindset approach, Fort Lewis captured their fifth RMAC regular season title and sixth RMAC tournament title to advance to the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II (DII) Men’s Soccer Tournament.
The team’s success was also largely due in part to former head coach, Jeremy Gunn.
During the first round of postseason, Fort Lewis saw RMAC opponent, Colorado School of Mines, and defeated the Orediggers 1-0. FLC advanced in the tournament, claiming victories over Cal-State Dominguez Hills, 3-2 and Lynn University, 6-4 before meeting Franklin Pierce in the championship game. In a 3-1 victory over the Ravens, the Skyhawks captured the first of three NCAA DII National Championship titles in FLC history.
The Skyhawks capped off the season with several accolades including Eisenbraun being named RMAC Defensive Player of the Year. The team had four All-Americans, four All-Final Four Team members, five United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as National Soccer Coaches Association of America) All-Midwest Regional Team members and Eisenbraun and teammate John Cunliffe were named NCAA DII Final Four Most Outstanding Defensive and Offensive Players, respectively. In 2016, the team was inducted into the Fort Lewis Skyhawks Hall of Fame and this year, they will become the first-ever men’s or women’s soccer team to be inducted in to the RMAC Hall of Fame.