Titans soccer recovers from loss to Telluride with Ridgway win

Down Ridgway for the first time in three years

The Titans soccer team blew a 3-1 lead in Telluride, losing 4-3 to open league play last week. Fortunately, it may have been just what they needed to pull together as a team and focus on putting together a successful season.
The Titans came into Telluride with a non-league record of 1-4, using the early-season match-ups to work on a new line-up.
The hope was that by the time they started league play, their plan would be dialed.
For all intents and purposes, it appeared that way as they lined up against the Telluride Miners.
After giving up an early goal to the Miners, the Titans came back to build a 2-1 lead by halftime. Junior Luis Aguirre flicked a head ball through to sophomore Jesse Reeves to tie the game 1-1. Senior captain Henry Linehan battled for a loose ball at the top of the 18 and fired his shot low and hard for a 2-1 Titans lead.
The Titans came out in the second half looking to seal the deal when senior Sam Evans jumped on a long ball from junior Nolan Blunck to score, giving the Titans a 3-1 lead.
But complacency took hold of the Titans as they seemed content with a 3-1 advantage. The Miners made the most of the next 20 minutes as they fired off three unanswered goals in a row to go up 4-3 with 18 minutes left.
The Titans returned to mid-game form to try to mount one last comeback, but their shots missed the mark, hitting the post several times as time ran out on the Titans.
The Titans had one day to recover for their next league match up when they hosted the Ridgway Demons for the home opener on Saturday, September 18. Crested Butte had yet to beat Ridgway in the past three years, with the Demons taking the league title the last two years in a row.
But the sting of the loss to Telluride had the Titans determined to take the Demons down before the near- capacity crowd at Rainbow Field.
The Demons charged through the opening five minutes of play, shelling the Crested Butte net with shots. Senior goaltender Ben Frame made a series of early saves to hold the Demon attack at bay, until the Titans pulled themselves together.
Six minutes in, junior captain Ben Reaman slipped a pass through to Aguirre, and Aguirre blasted his shot low to the near post for a 1-0 Crested Butte lead.
Ridgway tied the game 1-1 midway through the second half on a penalty kick, but the Titans took back the game two minutes later when Reeves knocked a shot off the post and Evans followed to bury the rebound for a 2-1 Titans lead.
Frame and the Titans defense held off one last surge by Ridgway and Aguirre capped the win, crashing the net on a free kick from Blunck to drive a shot past the Demon defense in the final two minutes, icing the 3-1 Crested Butte win.
The Titans closed the opening week of league play with a 9-0 win over Lake City on Monday, September 20.
The Titans hit the road this week for two big league match-ups as they face Bayfield on Friday, September 24 and then Pagosa Springs on Saturday, September 25.