The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Gunning for the Bronze Boot
Ever since the Crested Butte U-18 club soccer team fell short of the title at the Western Slope City League tournament and missed an opportunity to bring home the Bronze Boot trophy last spring, it’s been on their mind.
They returned to action three weeks ago and after dropping their first league game to Delta/Hotchkiss, they notched two wins in a league double header.
April spring break hit and the team took a break. It showed when they returned to the field on Saturday, April 27 for a game against Glenwood Springs and a rematch with Delta/Hotchkiss.
Crested Butte stumbled through the first 30 minutes of the game against Glenwood Springs before waking up to mount a sustained attack for the final 10 minutes of the first half.
The defense of Cal Fenerty, Josh Melnick, Danny Stoneberg and Anna Fenerty held strong to keep the game within striking distance and the effort of Isaac Evans and Prawit Durgan in midfield produced numerous scoring chances for Crested Butte.
Despite their hard work, opportunities in front of the net flew wide of the target and Crested Butte was down 1-0 with 15 minutes left in regulation.
Continued pressure ultimately paid off as Crested Butte was awarded a penalty kick with 10 minutes left to play.
Durgan buried the penalty shot to tie the game 1-1 and Crested Butte maintained their pace to hold the ball in Glenwood’s half of the field as time ticked away.
Glenwood mounted one last attack and Crested Butte countered finding a seam through the defense as Jesse Reeves broke loose to score and win the game in the final minute of regulation.
After a 20-minute break, Crested Butte took the field again looking to avenge their loss to Delta/Hotchkiss earlier this season.
Unfortunately, Delta proved too powerful once again netting three goals over the course of the game to shut Crested Butte out 3-0.
Crested Butte will head down to Gunnison on Saturday, May 4 for another league doubleheader. They will play Gunnison at 11 a.m. and then face the Glenwood Springs A squad at 1 p.m.
They will close the season with the league tournament in Glenwood Springs on Saturday, May 11 and look to bring the Bronze Boot back to Crested Butte.
