Titans’ soccer pushes through to tournament finals

Great defense and pure hustle pace team

There’s been a paradigm shift on the Crested Butte Titans high school soccer team, and after their success this past weekend, it may just work out.

 Starting last season, the coaching staff made a commitment to tighten up the defense. Not just the back four but also the entire team. Their first test came this past weekend as the Titans headed to Colorado Springs for their annual early season tournament hosted by 3A powerhouse Classical Academy on Friday and Saturday, September 2 and 3.
Traditionally, the tournament attracts perennial state tournament teams as well as fledgling programs and offers a good early barometer of where the Titans stand in the state at the 3A level.
“We’re looking to see what kind of talent we have and how far they could go as a team,” says coach Mike Martin.
In addition, it gives the Titans their only opportunity to play under the lights—Friday night lights, to be specific.
Crested Butte opened the tournament against Weld Central with revenge on the mind.
Last year the Titans fell to 2-1 to Weld Central in a physical brand of smash-mouth soccer.
This year, the Friday night lights had the Titans energized and they opened the game winning every 50-50 ball and pressuring Weld Central on every touch.
The Titans struck first 11 minutes into the game when sophomore Montana Wiggins played the ball down the line to junior Jesse Reeves. Reeves gathered the pass and dribbled straight to the net to beat the Weld keeper to the far corner.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature intervened as a violent storm cell passed over the field, forcing an hour and a half delay before the teams could return to play.
The pause was just what Weld needed as they came out and immediately took control of the game, tying it up five minutes later.
Sophomore goalkeeper Ian Dethloff pulled off three big saves in a row following the goal and the Titans regrouped to take the game back.
Reeves struck again from 25 yards out and senior captain Ben Reaman took a throw in and sliced through the Weld defense to score, sealing the 3-1 Titans win.
While the weather delay had the team hitting the sheets at their hotel at 1:30 a.m., the win meant they didn’t have to play until noon the next day.
A late-night Denny’s run, a 9 a.m. wake up call and an assault on the Clarion Inn breakfast buffet turned the team around just in time for Saturday’s game against Manual.
Manual brought a highly skilled team to the pitch but the Titans’ defense disrupted the Manual offense any time they tried to build up an attack.
While the Titans’ touch with the ball was still rough, their hustle made up for their shortcomings and they flirted with a couple of early chances on net.
Manual continued to press, bringing in attackers from their back four looking to add to their attack. Thirteen minutes into the first half, the Titans exploited Manual’s push when Reaman took a clearing pass and turned immediately into an attacking transition.
Reaman drew a defender and slotted a pass through two others, with senior Luis Aguirre breaking free to receive the pass.
Aguirre took the ball to net and beat the Manual keeper one-on-one for a 1-0 Crested Butte lead.
Manual tied the game four minutes later on a penalty kick. Dethloff saved the initial strike but the shooter followed up to score on the rebound despite the second effort of Dethloff.
The two teams battled back and forth in the second half, with both keepers making big saves.
The play of the day, and perhaps the tournament, came with 10 minutes left in regulation.
The ball broke free of Dethloff’s hands inside the six-yard box and was bouncing free on the goal line when Wiggins dove for it and swatted it clear with his hands.
Wiggins was ejected, forcing Crested Butte to play a man down and Manual was awarded a penalty kick, but the shooter missed wide and the 1-1 tie remained intact.
After a frantic six minutes of soccer, the Titans regrouped to take control of the game and when Shannon Costello was taken down in Manual’s penalty box, the Titans were awarded a penalty shot.
Reaman stepped to the ball and drove it to the low corner for the game-winning goal, earning the Titans their first trip ever to the tournament finals to face host team Classical Academy.
Classical Academy took second place in the state last year and brings a highly disciplined and well skilled team to the field.
The Titans suffered a shelling for the first 30 minutes of play with the team backed into their own defensive third the entire time. The Titans were diving and lunging with reckless abandon in an effort to block the flurry of shots. Dethloff stopped the shots that got through and the Titans closed the first half notched in a scoreless tie with Classical Academy.
While the Titans managed to break into the Classical Academy end more in the second half, a majority of the play remained in front of the Crested Butte net.
Dethloff continued to have a stellar game and as Titan players reached near exhaustion, coaches Acuff and Martin turned to their bench for much-needed relief.
Costello, freshman Anna Fenerty and freshman Joe Hayes all filled pivotal roles in the Titans line-up to help keep hopes alive for an upset.
But hopes were dashed with 10 minutes left in the game when Classical Academy broke the scoreless tie.
Remarkably, once scored upon the Titans started playing the soccer they know how to, linking passes and forming a handful of counterattacks.
One last rush in the final minute provided the Titans’ best chance on net but the Classical keeper made the save and cleared the ball to preserve the 1-0 win.
“We had an excellent tournament,” says Martin. “We had three hard-fought games and the team really stepped up and gelled with their defense. We were happy with their progression over the three games.”
While reaching the finals was a first for Crested Butte, there’s plenty of soccer left in the season and the team has a tendency to drop off in October.
“It’s a good start but it’s still early in the season,” says Martin. “I will say there was a lot more drive this year. We’re hoping that will carry on through the season.”
The Titans get their first big league challenge on Thursday, September 15 when they host Telluride. Games are at 4 and 5:45 p.m.