Crested Butte spring soccer drops two more games

Playing better, just not scoring

The Crested Butte U18 spring soccer team’s woes continue as they dropped two more games over the weekend, finishing up the regular season in last place with a record of 1-7.
On the bright side, Crested Butte played some of its best soccer in the two losses to DC Force Red and DC Force White, but the back of the net continued to elude them as they were held scoreless through both matches.
The Crested Butte team suffered the loss of a couple of key players to their line-up Saturday due to a conflict with SAT testing (education before athletics) but several players stepped up their games to keep the contests close.
“Everybody seemed to step up their game across the board,” says coach Drew Canale.
They opened the day against DC Force Red out of Delta County. Crested Butte took control early to set up a handful of attacks but shots continued to miss the cage or bang off the posts.
DC Force Red capitalized on a miscue midway through the first half to take a 1-0 lead and hold off counterattacks to carry their lead into halftime.
Crested Butte spent the second half dominating possession and Ian Dethloff and Jordi Nichols were clicking up top, but the team struggled in the offensive third, eventually falling 1-0.
“I thought they played the best soccer they’ve played all season,” says Canale, “but we’re still having trouble scoring. We’re losing possession in key parts of the field and just not ripping shots. But I did see more consistency and a full 90 minutes of soccer.”
The Crested Butte team suffered the loss of a couple more players as they prepared for their second game of the day against DC Force White.
The lull between games rendered the Crested Butte side helpless in the opening 10 minutes of the game and DC Force White seized the chance to take an early 1-0 lead.
The goal woke Crested Butte up for the remainder of the half, as they settled back into their possession style of play and managed to find open shots just outside of the penalty area.
The DC Force keeper pushed away two attempts and Ionut Sustic cracked one off the crossbar but the back of the net proved elusive.
DC Force White tacked on a second goal in the second half and while Crested Butte ramped up their play down the final stretch to open up a handful of additional opportunities on net, Crested Butte eventually fell 2-0.
“I think they were playing with pride the final 15 minutes and wanted to come away with a win or at least a tie, and finish strong as a team,” says Canale. “They were pressing hard but weren’t able to connect.”
Crested Butte heads into the post-season tournament in Grand Junction on Saturday, May 10 as the last seed but Canale believes there is still hope for one final run at the tournament title.
“The team has been playing better the past two weeks than they have all spring,” says Canale. “It’s not going to be easy but if they bring their best game, they can compete.”