Titans’ soccer notches two big league wins including T’ride victory

Defend the pitch against Miner attack

The Crested Butte Titans soccer team earned two big wins this past week against league opponents, including a thrilling 3-2 double overtime win against the Telluride Miners at homecoming on Friday, September 20.

The week started off on the road as the Titans headed to Ridgway to face the Demons on Tuesday, September 17. For the past several years, the Titans have struggled on the road against Ridgway and have suffered devastating losses as a result.
This year, it appeared it would happen again as the Titans opened the game flat, allowing Ridgway to dictate play. Crested Butte abandoned their passing game, falling back on a series of solo efforts in midfield and on attack that resulted in numerous turnovers in the offensive third.
Meanwhile, the Demons were able to find a handful of openings in the Titans’ defense to mount threatening counterattacks.
Despite a sluggish effort in the first half, a strike from senior Prawit Durgan gave the Titans a 1-0 lead at halftime.
The break was just what the Titans needed as they came out in the second half committed to their typical style of play. Mixing speed up front with a possession style midfield, the Titans managed to crack the seal of the Demon defense two more times in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Junior Kaleb Schultz won a ball at the top of the offensive third to drop it back to senior Solon Gray. Gray found junior Sam Reaman on a run with a quick slot pass and Reaman finished for a 2-0 Titans lead. Ten minutes later, Schultz held off two Demon defenders to turn and fire a low shot that beat the Ridgway keeper near post for a 3-0 lead.
The Demons continued to press and managed to score off a set play but the Titans defense held off additional late game attacks to seal the 3-1 win.
“They played better as the game went along which seems to be our M.O.,” says coach Drew Canale. “It was a good win and good to start the week on a high note.”
The Titans regrouped over the next two days of practice to prepare for the Miners. Telluride brings a slick short-passing attack that can cause fits for any defense.
Telluride took control of the game for the first 10 minutes, pressing into the Titans’ defensive third to open up shots for their strikers. Crested Butte held on and senior keeper Ian Dethloff made a couple of big saves to hold off the initial surge and as the Titans settled in, they started to gain momentum.
Telluride continued to press off the front but Crested Butte found some openings on their counters. Sophomore defender Thomas Taaca slipped a pass through traffic to Schultz up top and Schultz turned on his defender to open up a left-footed blast from 20 yards for a 1-0 Titans lead.
Telluride responded like clockwork, firing off two goals in a matter of 15 minutes. Linking several quick passes to find runners off the ball, the Miner attack shredded the Titans. Heavy pressure on their strikers in the middle opened up the wings for a quick pass and a strike to tie the game 1-1. Ten minutes later, a combination of passes down the middle gave the Miners their second goal and a 2-1 lead.
“We had a few slip-ups and got caught flat-footed and it cost us,” says Canale.
But the Titans’ resolve was strong and despite being down, they continued to plug away. Durgan led the way, winning 50/50 balls at midfield and turning the ball up-field for the attack. Schultz, handcuffed, dropped the ball to Durgan to build room. Durgan blasted a shot from 30 yards that bounced back off a Miner defender right to Gray’s feet. Gray settled and fired, picking the top shelf from 25 yards out to tie the game 2-2 heading into halftime.
The second half had everything you could want from a high school soccer game. Both teams traded off attacks but both came up empty as the two teams’ defensive efforts managed to keep the game notched in a 2-2 draw at the end of regulation.
The Miners opened the first overtime with a couple of quick looks at the Titans’ net but shots flew wide and Crested Butte returned with some attacks of their own.
The two teams then pushed into the second overtime period and continued to trade off strikes as each attack by one team was turned up-field for a counterattack by the other.
The break in the stalemate came in the 94th minute of play when junior Dakota Wiggins found Schultz breaking down the sideline with a throw-in. Schultz carried the ball to the end line and served a low cross into the six-yard box that bounced through and Gray followed to tap it in for the 3-2 overtime win.
“I’m glad we came away with the win in overtime,” says Canale. “That was huge for our confidence.”
The Titans will remain at home this weekend as they host Alamosa on Friday, September 27 at 4 p.m. and Center on Saturday, September 28 at 11 a.m. The team then heads to Telluride on Tuesday, October 1.
“We have yet to beat Alamosa, so it should be a challenge,” says coach Than Acuff. “If we can start with a good result there, hopefully we can carry the momentum into the Center game and then into Telluride. We’ll be walking into the lion’s den in Telluride.”