Titans’ soccer opens season with a couple of league wins

“It was a huge win”

The Crested Butte Titans high school soccer team will play all season long with a target on their back after posting a record of 12-0 to win the league last year. And just one week into league play, they appear to be back on track after defeating the Telluride Miners and the Bayfield Wolverines over the weekend.
The Telluride/Crested Butte rivalry has continued to grow over the past several years with the team typically splitting their games each season. As a result, there was no question that opening the season in Telluride was going to be tough. Strangely, the team was a bit subdued the week leading up to the game but turned it around on game day.
“The couple of practices before the game didn’t have the energy we usually have for Telluride. I think we were a bit unsure what to expect since it was the first game of the season,” says varsity captain Sam Reaman. “But when we got there, the energy was there and it felt good.”
The Miners brought the heat in the opening 10 minutes of play pressing the Titans back in their defensive third. The Titans defense, anchored by Josh Melnick and Nate Hoskin in the middle, held off the initial attack but the Miners converted on a corner kick to take an early 1-0 lead.
With that out of the way, the Titans could settle into a more cohesive attack, utilizing their speed to open the game up field starting with the defense and midfield winning the ball out of the air and dominating the center of the field.
“I didn’t think there was any sense of panic after that first goal,” says Reaman. “We took the kick-off and were back to normal and we started controlling the game more.”
Gaining possession on loose balls allowed the Titans to push the pace with Jorge Rodriguez and Reaman connecting up the flanks to reach the offensive third of the field.
With Telluride shifted over to close off Rodriguez, Jorge found a slot through their back four cross field to Kaleb Schultz. Schultz turned on the afterburners to chase down the through ball and slip it past the Telluride goalkeeper to tie the game 1-1.
The Titans reorganized on defense as Henry Sunter and Thomas Taaca closed off the flanks and the team continued play tight one-on-one defense, handcuffing the Miners attack.
Midfielders Isaac Evans, Patrick Seifert and Sebastian Infante battled to keep the Titans attack in place and the work paid off as Infante crashed on a loose ball in the six-yard box and poked it through for a 2-1 lead five minutes into the second half.
Titans goalkeeper Josh Pruett made a couple of key saves and the Titans built on their lead 20 minutes into the second half when Reaman turned on a loose ball to pick the lower corner with a shot.
The Titans maintained pressure throughout the rest of the game and sealed the 4-1 win when Justin Smith buried a direct kick top shelf from 20 yards out.
“It was a huge win,” says Reaman. “We got one of the hardest games of the season out of the way and got the win. It boosted our confidence because we didn’t score any goals in our preseason scrimmage but then scored four against Telluride.”
The Titans returned home that night to suit up Saturday against the Bayfield Wolverines for the Titans’ first home game of the 2014 season.
The Titans opened the game with a new formation but struggled to find any rhythm as players were confused about their new roles.
Meanwhile, Bayfield opened the game on fire, pushing the pace and pressing forward, knocking the Titans back on their heels. Their efforts opened up a couple of early chances on the Titans net but the defense held strong and Pruett turned away two quick shots.
A handball in the penalty area gave the Titans a penalty kick and Schultz converted to give Crested Butte a 1-0 lead at halftime.
The Titans returned to their normal formation and pulled together as a team to take control of the game in the second half.
After a couple of near misses by the Titans in the opening 10 minutes, Reaman found the back of the net with a strike from the top of the 18-yard box. Seifert then followed on a loose ball to score the Titans’ third goal for a little breathing room.
Bayfield scored on a set play to close the gap but Schultz took the ensuing kick-off to goal and scored for a 4-1 Titans lead. Noah Dumas finished it off for the Titans, drilling a shot from 25 yards out that hit off the back of Izzac Nixon for a final score of 5-1.
“The team felt like it was going to be easier than it was and we weren’t ready,” says Reaman. “We were frustrated but when we scored that second goal we calmed down and the defense played strong and we ended up scoring three more goals.”
The Titans will play three non-conference games before returning to league play when they head down to Cortez, Colo. to face Montezuma-Cortez on Saturday, September 6. The Titans play their next home league game against Ridgway on Tuesday, September 9 at 4 p.m. at Rainbow Field.