WESA u19 boys drop two over weekend

“Lost the plot of the game”

[  by Than Acuff  ]

After a two-week break from contests, the West Elk Soccer Association (WESA) u19 boys Black team faced the Montrose Avalanche and Colorado Mountain United over the past weekend, losing both games by a goal each.

WESA faced both squads earlier in the season, losing to Colorado Mountain United 2-1 and tying Montrose 1-1 so WESA was looking to avenge those earlier results, knowing full well that victory was well within reach.

They headed to Montrose early Saturday, October 10 for the rematch and despite the early drive to make the 9 a.m. kick-off, the quad appeared more than ready to get back to playing in a game. WESA was the first to every loose ball and played a consistent possession game in the midfield, while their defense had to do a bit of scrambling, with coaches forced to move players to make up for missing starters.

Their diligent work and quicker step led to an early goal for WESA as a series of quick passes in the attacking third pushed the ball to the far post and Jacob Bernholtz dashed in to stuff the ball top-shelf for a 1-0 lead three minutes into the game.

“Our midfield was dominating, moving the ball quickly and using the flanks,” says captain Nathan Miller.

The goal woke Montrose out of their early fog and they started to take the game under their control, pushing passes to their potent three-man striker attack and open up seams to net. WESA’s back line did what they could to stem the attack but Montrose eventually broke through to score, tying the game in the 12th minute.

The two teams started playing at maximum speed and an adjustment to the back line for WESA proved fortuitous as the Montrose striker corps was held in the check the remainder of the first half. Meanwhile, WESA found the same on the other side of the field as a well-organized back line for Montrose slowed the WESA attack down and the game remained a war of attrition in the midfield, with neither team finding the back of the net before halftime.

“We started to tire out and couldn’t keep it up and they started to play better,” says Miller. “They just got stronger as the game progressed.”

WESA came out of the halftime break back where they started, setting the tone for hard work and possession at midfield opening up opportunities on the flank. The consistent push wide ultimately opened up the middle and when Bernholtz took a pass up top and turned outside. The Montrose defense shifted to try to slow him down.

Bernholtz turned the corner to the end line and drove a loss pass into the six-yard box for Grayson White to punch home and put WESA back on top 2-1 four minutes into the second half.

“It was great to see him turn it outside and see Grayson open in the middle and play it straight to him,” says Miller.

The celebration was short-lived though as Montrose ramped up once again and their attack resulted in a WESA own-goal, tying the game 2-2. Two minutes later Montrose struck again to take a 3-2 lead with plenty of time left for WESA to respond.

While the WESA back line did their job the rest of the game and the midfield corps of Nathan Miller, Jamis Matlock, Nathan Sawyer and White worked hard to exert the game plan and keep the ball in Montrose’s half for the final 15 minutes, WESA struggled to find the finishing touch to fall 3-2.

“We just started playing the long ball to our strikers too much and their two big center defenders were winning everything and our defense and midfield just got tired,” says Miller.

WESA returned home to then host Colorado Mountain United on Sunday, October 11. Colorado Mountain United is a collection of some of the best players in the Newcastle/Glenwood Springs area and poses a great challenge for WESA every year.

With keeper Alex Eldridge forced to step out of net and onto the field with a broken thumb, Aksel Lindenmeyr stepped in net for WESA for his first start with the Black team.

“Aksel did a great job,” says Miller. “He stepped up for sure.”

Colorado Mountain United brought their high-paced possession game to Crested Butte, further accented by a group of high velocity strikers but WESA proved up to the challenge. With Eric Lain anchoring the back line flanked by Kaiden Marziano and Otto Billingsley, WESA’s defense remained resolute against the Colorado Mountain United attack. Meanwhile, Sawyer immediately established himself as the top midfielder of the game working up and down the field with a deft touch and anticipation of the opponent’s passing scheme.

Colorado Mountain United eventually broke the scoreless draw in the first half but WESA would remain in the hunt for the equalizer. As the snow and rain subsided, Colorado Mountain United gained another step on WESA and started to take the game over midway through the second half. Their constant pressure eventually wore WESA down and while Lindenmeyr and the WESA defense held off the attack, the team as a whole had “lost the plot of the game,” as coach Sam Higby put it, and ultimately fell 1-0.

“It got too aggressive and we fell into their game and it became a brawl fest instead of a soccer game,” says Miller.

WESA u19 Black will close out the regular season with a rematch against Colorado Mountain United on Saturday, October 17. Then, both the Black team and the White team will close out the season at a tournament in Durango October 23-25.