Crested Butte Titans soccer split road games last week

Recover after tough loss

Every season the Crested Butte Titans look for non-league opponents to get a glimpse into the bigger soccer world in Colorado. For several years they squared off against the Salida Spartans, a perennial 3A soccer powerhouse, and would often end up on the losing end of things.
After a four-year hiatus, the Titans managed to bring the Salida team back into their schedule, only to find a similar result as they fell to the Spartans 4-2 on Tuesday, September 9.
“Salida always has a pretty good soccer program and they do again this year,” says coach Drew Canale.
Crested Butte struggled in the first half as Salida managed to take advantage of a disorganized defense to net two goals, and added a third on a direct kick to take a 3-0 lead into halftime.
“The defense and midfield started off a little shaky,” says Canale.
The Titans took the halftime break to recharge and regroup and come out in the second half determined to chip away at the Spartans’ lead.
Heavy pressure from the Titans back four at midfield made all the difference as the Titans set the tempo for the rest of the game. The effort paid off 15 minutes into the second half as Sam Reaman took a pass and turned it out wide to Kaleb Schultz. Schultz barreled past one defender and cut inside to rip a low hard shot for the Titans’ first goal of the game.
Unfortunately, a defensive miscue gave up an easy goal to Salida but Crested Butte continued the pressure to set up three more golden chances on net. All three fell into the hands of the Salida keeper or hit off the post but the Titans got a break when Jordi Nichols forced a turnover in front of the Spartans net and Sebastian Infante picked the upper corner to pull within two, with plenty of time left in the game.
Crested Butte continued to press but struggled to find the final touch to the back of the net, falling 4-2.
“They pulled it together and played a much better second half,” says Canale.
Crested Butte returned to the road on Saturday, September 13 to face the newest addition to their league, Montezuma-Cortez.
Road-weary legs and the effects of “whatever” rendered the Titans nearly comatose in the opening half. They managed to find seams in the Cortez defense but the Cortez goalkeeper came up big with a handful of saves.
The Titans struggled through the middle of the first half, turning the ball over numerous times and allowing Cortez openings down the middle of the field. Cortez converted on two of their opportunities to build a 2-0 lead. Fortunately, the Titans had the last say of the first half as Justin Smith played a corner to the far post and Gus Hensley crashed on the floating cross to head it home, cutting the Cortez lead to one before the half.
Lethargic play continued to plague the Titans in the second half but Jorge Rodriguez tightened up things on defense and Henry Sunter started dominating the middle of the field. Taisei offered some breathing room on the outside but Cortez packed the defense to hold off a handful of Titan attacks.
Schultz tied the game with 15 minutes left in regulation, jumping on a misplayed goal kick to dribble straight to net and score, tying the game 2-2. Titans’ netminder Josh Pruett made a series of big saves down the stretch and the two teams headed into the first overtime notched in a 2-2 tie.
Neither team mounted any significant attack in the first 10 minutes of overtime but the Titans put together one last-ditch effort on the Cortez kick-off in the opening minute of the second overtime. As Cortez played the ball back to their defense, Nichols pressured them into kicking the ball out of play. Crested Butte surged forward to then force a corner kick and converted when Rodriguez crashed on a low-driven ball by Taisei to score the game winner.
“It seems like we’re slow starters, which is not a good habit to get into,” says Canale. “We tend to dig ourselves into a hole and then start playing better.”
The Titans head to Alamosa on Saturday, September 13 for another league showdown and then return home to ramp up for their homecoming showdown with Telluride on Friday, September 19 at Rainbow Field at 4 p.m. The Titans remain at home to face the high-powered Pagosa Springs Pirates on Saturday, September 20 at 11 a.m.