The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Tournament in Glenwood Springs
The Crested Butte Titans soccer team is putting their spring workouts to the test this year. Typically, they manage a couple indoor practices a week and never get a chance to put it together in a game.
This year, with the advent of a team in Gunnison and the creation of the Western Slope City League, the Titans managed to take the field as a team three times in the past three weeks.
Play opened for the Titans with a hail-shortened match against an up and coming squad out of Gunnison.
The Titans built a 1-0 lead in the first half off a goal by James Beltz and were gaining momentum in the second half before the skies opened up forcing the game to be called prematurely.
The two teams got a chance to meet once again under better conditions Wednesday, May 2 in Gunnison. While the Titans tried to establish a possession style of play early, passes missed their marks under intense pressure by the Gunnison midfield.
Gunnison countered with a wide-open strategy looking to get the ball to the feet of their potent strikers. The Titans defense of Cal Fenerty, Dylan Curtiss, the Wiggins brothers and Joe Hayes all stepped up to stop the strikers in their tracks.
Twenty-five minutes into the game, Gunnison caught a break when a Titan defender was called for a hand ball inside the penalty area. Jose Cantu stepped up to take the penalty kick for Gunnison and drilled his shot dead center. Titan goalie Ian Dethloff was diving to his right when the ball was struck but got a hand up at the final second to tip the ball over the crossbar.
The Titans broke the scoreless tie 15 minutes into the second half when Prawit Durgan drove a corner kick low and Isaac Evans punched it past the hands of keeper TJ Curry for a 1-0 Titans lead.
Gunnison got a second chance at a penalty kick and this time converted when Luis Aguirre drove his shot to the far post. Dethloff got his hands on it again but it bounced off the post and trickled in to tie the game 1-1.
The Titans got one last chance to break the tie on a penalty kick with five minutes left in regulation but the shot flew wide of the net.
Neither team scored in extended play leaving both squads with the bitter taste of a 1-1 tie in their mouths.
The Titans washed the taste from their mouths the following Saturday when they headed to Delta to face Hotchkiss.
Hotchkiss was noticeably fatigued from their game earlier that day and struggled to hold off the run-and-gun attack of the Titans team.
Jesse Reeves netted a hat trick and Sam Reaman tallied a solo strike to build a 4-0 Titans lead by halftime.
Aaron Blunck joined the team from Vail to add some punch to the offense and scored in the opening minutes of the second half. Evans got his second goal in two games and Hayes moved up from defense to score, giving the Titans a decisive 7-0 win.
The Titans head to Glenwood Springs on Saturday, May 12 to compete in the Western Slope City League tournament.
