Butte Kickers struggle in home soccer tournament

Boulder team takes the title

There were flashes of brilliance and there were total breakdowns as the Crested Butte adult coed soccer team struggled in its home tournament Saturday and Sunday, June 26-27, tying one game and losing two.

 Nine teams total competed in the 14th Annual Crested Butte soccer tournament, including squads from Aspen, Durango, Grand Junction and the Front Range.
Typically, two teams represent Crested Butte at its home tournament: the Kickers and the Bombers. This year though, the two teams combined to provide one solid Kickers contingent.
The team was a collection of veteran players and rookies on both the women’s and the men’s sides and was flush with ability when they warmed up for their first match Saturday morning against Boulder ReMax.
The impetus to defend the home field against Boulder fueled the Kickers for the opening 20 minutes of the game. The Kickers rarely, if ever, play together as a team but their ball movement was succinct as they threaded passes from the back line and through the midfield.
The trouble for the Kickers came when they tried to transition into an offensive attack as Boulder’s backline repeatedly turned the Kickers strikers away.
Success for the Kickers came in the 22nd minute of the first half when sweeper Matt Gutter pushed forward on a set play from midfield. As John Von Briesen lined up to play the ball, he saw Gutter crashing the far post and played a brilliant chip pass over the top to Gutter in stride.
Gutter stretched for the ball and flicked it past the outstretched arms of the onrushing goalkeeper for the 1-0 Kickers lead.
Boulder woke up for the second half of play rattling the Kickers cage with two shots off the post. Kickers goalie Ryan Houseman was steady in net, though, turning away every shot that was on target and holding the Kickers’ slight lead.
The Kickers got fresh subs in midway through the second half to take the momentum back and regain control of the game but Boulder slipped through for the equalizer ending the game in a 1-1 tie.
The Kickers lined up for their second game of the day against Colorado Springs. The Colorado Springs squad admitted prior to the game they came for the party and it showed as the Kickers dominated the first half.
Kickers striker Rodrigo Gonzaga broke free inside the penalty box for open shots on several occasions only to have the ball sail just wide of the net.
The Kickers found the back of the net in the 25th minute of the game when a touch header from Von Briesen found Rene Gonzalez running through to net. As the Colorado Springs goalie charged off his line, Gonzalez flicked the ball up over his head and into the net.
The Kickers continued to press, looking for a 2-0 lead as Heather Duryea broke free up front looking for the ball but was never found.
Gutter, Chris Eaton and Andrew Canale clamped down the middle of the field as Lauren Alkire and Brian Fenerty shut down the outsides to hold the 1-0 lead through the half.
The Kickers were handed a blow late in the first half when veteran all-star striker Pete Basile tore his calf chasing a through ball and was sidelined the rest of the weekend.
The break at halftime pulled the wind out of the Kickers’ sails as they came out flat in the second half.
Colorado Springs tied the game eight minutes into the second half on a direct kick from 25 yards out.
Eaton remained strong in the middle but the Kickers players were tired and a slight mismanagement of available substitutions led to two more Colorado Springs goals as the Kickers fell 3-1.
The loss left the Kickers with a consolation game Sunday morning against Durango.
Several players were missing from the Kickers for the early game but the team that did show was solid and took the game to the young Durango squad.
The Kickers threatened early with Duryea wreaking havoc up front but the back of the net proved elusive.
Durango netted a goal in the final minute of the first half and added three more in the second half to hand the Kickers a stinging 4-0 loss.
On the positive side, the Boulder team that the Kickers tied in the first game would go on to win the tournament in overtime against long-standing Kickers rival, Aspen.
The Kickers will return to training, i.e. open pick up soccer, as they prepare for a tournament in Winter Park later this summer.