Titans’ soccer nets two big wins over weekend

Survive late surge by Pagosa Springs

It happens every year. The Crested Butte Titans soccer team builds a lead on the Pagosa Springs Pirates, only to watch it slip away as the game continues.
Some years, the game ends in tragedy as Pagosa completes the comeback to eventually win. Last Friday, it appeared the same was going to happen but cooler heads prevailed and the Titans held on for the 4-3 win.
Crested Butte opened the game in complete control, pinning the Pirates in their defensive third and firing shots almost at will. Pagosa held off the initial surge but the Titans continued to press and finally found the back of the net 10 minutes into the game.
A quick switch found Titans’ senior Dakota Wiggins open on the weak side and on the attack. Wiggins carried the ball to the end line and played it back to junior Kaleb Schultz at the top of the penalty area. Schultz’ shot was blocked but junior Sam Reaman was there for the rebound and buried the ball into the far corner.
Three minutes later the pressure paid off again as sophomore Ashton Mabry chipped a ball into the penalty area that glanced off a Pirate defender and into the net for a 2-0 Titans’ lead.
But heavy pressure forward does have its consequences and Pagosa exploited the Titans’ attack two minutes later. As Crested Butte looked to force a misplay in the Pirates defensive third, their center back found a Pagosa striker breaking through with a long ball and he finished to cut the Titans’ lead back down to one.
Pagosa continued to look for success with the long ball over the top but sophomore defenders Thomas Taaca and Nate Hoskin came through with a couple of big plays and the Titans carried their 2-1 lead into halftime.
“We came hot out of the gate as usual and sustained a good 40 minutes,” says coach Drew Canale. “The goal we gave up hurt but the team responded well and started playing a little sharper and our communication was up.”
The Pirates pressed to open the second half but Schultz managed to break free on a long ball and attack the Pirate net. Pagosa recovered but senior Prawit Dugan followed the play to set up for a one-two combination to Schultz and he scored for a 3-1 Titans advantage.
Lightning ensued and the game was delayed an hour before the two teams came back onto the field, slowing down the Titans’ attack.
“We definitely had a let-down after the delays and Pagosa came out smoking,” says Canale.
The Titans got a break when senior Solon Gray’s corner slipped past their defense and into the net for a 4-1 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Pagosa did what they always do though and continued to battle back. A foul just outside the Titans’ penalty area set up Pagosa’s next goal and three minutes later another Titans foul gave the Pirates a penalty kick. They converted and with six minutes left in regulation, the Titans were sitting on a tenuous 4-3 lead.
“It really was just a couple of bad decisions,” says Canale. “It wasn’t that we were totally flat. I thought we were playing a better soccer game but all of a sudden it was a one-goal game.”
Crested Butte tightened up on defense and returned to their possession-style attack to hold off the Pirate attack and emerged with a 4-3 win.
“The win was huge—it got us off on a good foot for league play,” says Canale.
The Titans returned to Rainbow Field Saturday afternoon to host the Bayfield Wolverines. Bayfield is at the start of rebuilding their program and the Titans managed to take advantage of Bayfield’s inexperience early, scoring four goals in the first 20 minutes.
Schultz scored twice, sophomore Danny Stoneberg drilled a shot from 25 yards out and junior Ionut Sustic poked the ball through for a 4-0 lead.
Junior Taylor Acheson added a fifth goal and Sustic tallied his second of the afternoon for a 6-0 lead at halftime.
The Titans opened the second half sluggish and muddled through the first 10 minutes before Schultz completed his hat trick, Reaman and Wiggins scored a goal each and Durgan closed the game with a goal for the 10-0 win.
The Titans have a full plate this week. They headed to Ridgway on Tuesday, September 17 and then will host the Telluride Miners on Friday, September 20 for the homecoming game. Kick-off is at 4 p.m. at Rainbow Field on Friday.
“All of the players are really looking forward to the game,” says Canale. “They’re our biggest rival and typically the best team we face all season.”