Titans soccer season ends at semifinals

“Just being on the field together was the main goal”

[ by Than Acuff ]

The Crested Butte Titans girls soccer season came to an end Wednesday, June 23 when they fell to the Telluride Miners in the 2A state semifinal match finishing the year with a record of 9-3 overall. And given what happened to the Miners in the title game, that may have been the best ending for Crested Butte.

The Titans were coming off a gutsy win in the quarterfinals as they edged out a 1-0 win over Buena Vista to advance to the semis and play Telluride for a third time this season. While Telluride had won both previous matches, the Titans were looking to build off of the quarterfinal win to push them past Telluride.

“We felt like it was a winnable game and felt that getting by Telluride and just getting to the final was what they wanted to do because we know what was on the other side,” says coach Julia Kidd.

What was on the other side waiting in the finals was Dawson, who ended up beating Telluride in the title game 15-4.
The Miners opened the scoring in the game against the Titans early, but Crested Butte struck back in the 25th minute as Caroline Bryndal scored from just outside the 18-yard box to send the teams into halftime tied 1-1.

“The game looked even and it looked promising,” says Kidd.

But two different teams took the field for the second half. As Telluride stepped up their game, Crested Butte struggled to match the Miners. Telluride took full advantage of their effort to rattle off three goals in a span of 20 minutes to take a 4-1 lead.

“We took it down a notch and it seemed like they took it up two,” says Kidd. “We just looked a little off and felt it slip out of our hands.”

At that point Kidd gave the nod to all of the seniors to finish their high school careers on the field and the Titans scored one last goal as Campbell Ryan slipped the ball past the Telluride goalie from a near impossible angle but the Miners finished it out for the 4-2 win.

“They have the fastest attack we’ve seen all season and can just turn a game around and we just don’t have that speed,” says Kidd.

It was the end of a season that Kidd still feels was a resounding success, especially after last year being cancelled due to the pandemic.

“The season was not without frustration and hardship but I was just so glad we got to have a season,” says Kidd. “Just being on the field together was the main goal.”

Furthermore, Kidd touts the efforts of her senior captains Sophia Truex and Emmie Houseman and the rest of their senior classmates. They were freshmen and sophomores when the Titans went to the state semifinals with a different core group of players. Yet, despite missing last season, they carried what they learned from those two years to the team this year to maintain that same level of commitment and intensity.

“The senior girls ensured that the legacy continues,” says Kidd.

The Titans team is losing eight seniors to graduation, but from what Kidd saw out of her underclassmen and the JV players called up to play varsity in the state tournament, she’s excited about the future.

“Losing eight seniors is big but I really feel like we’re going to be okay,” says Kidd. “I’m excited to see the next couple of years. We’ve got to keep playing though, that’s the only way to get better. Dedication throughout the year makes a difference and WESA is a big part of that.”

Five Titans did receive league accolades. Leigh Harpel, Emmie Houseman and Ellie O’Neal were named first-team all league; and Phaedra Vierling and Hazie McNellis were named to the all league second team.