The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“They grew a lot and exceeded my expectations”
[ by Than Acuff ]
It all started back in February when assistant coach Matt Wilson told the Crested Butte Titans girls soccer team that if they made the 2A state finals, he would dye his beard blue. Well, on Wednesday, May 25 the Titans strolled onto the field at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to face defending champions Dawson in the state finals and there was Wilson with his beard dyed blue.
Unfortunately, that was not enough to help push the Titans past the Dawson Mustangs as Crested Butte fell 3-0 in the title game.
It was quite the post season run for the Titans, seeded 10th when they entered the post season tournament. After taking down Buena Vista in the first round, the Titans upset the second-seeded Fountain Valley Danes in the quarterfinals and then took down the third-seeded Lamar Savages in the semifinals to punch their ticket to the finals for the first time in the programs’ short history.
“I felt like a lot of the players put it into another gear that we didn’t see during the season,” says coach Heather Culley.
Meanwhile, Dawson, seeded fifth, had battled their way through their side of the tournament bracket for their seventh appearance in a row in the state finals.
With just three days between their semifinal win and the finals, Culley kept the team’s preparations straightforward.
“We really just focused on playing our own game,” says Culley. “We didn’t know much about Dawson which made it a little tough so, I just told them to go out and enjoy it and play their game.”
The Titans opened the game tepid as Dawson, with years of finals experience, appeared right at home in the big game. They opened the scoring six minutes into the game. The opening goal shook off some of the early nerves for the Titans as they started to find success where they always have, down the flank. So much so, that Dawson shifted some players around to try and stem the Titans’ tide.
Meanwhile, Crested Butte’s defense remained well-spaced and compact to hold off Dawson’s attack as well. Dawson came close to taking a 2-0 lead in the 28th minute when a chipped pass dropped in front of the Titans’ net and rolled precariously toward the net. Fortunately, the defense had goalie Mara Pennie’s back and Sawyer Ezzell cleared the ball from harm’s way. The back four continued to do their job with Paloma Lamar sealing off her side turning several Dawson attacks down her side away repeatedly.
Morgan Feltus and Campbell Ryan did find room on the flanks, but Dawson’s defense was as sound as Crested Butte’s. Both Maddie Bogard and Ellie O’Neal had little room to move up top and through balls and crosses were repeatedly shut off by Dawson’s back four to hold their 1-0 lead after one half of play.
“I think the first half was fine, but I could tell they were amped up and nervous,” says Culley. “I just told them to keep using the outside mids and focused Teagan (Turner) more on their #14 when they entered our defensive third.”
Dawson ramped up their effort to open the second half and had Crested Butte pinned for the opening eight minutes but once their effort subsided, the Titans went on the attack. With Leigh Harpel keyed on and often double-teamed all game long, Teagan Turner found room in the midfield to continue the Titans’ efforts pushing the ball wide. Crested Butte flirted several times with tying the game up, but shots were either saved or cleared of danger as Dawson held off Crested Butte over the next 20 minutes.
“It looked like they were getting tired and their offense wasn’t helping out back on defense which was giving us a little more space,” explains Culley. “We were just helping their defense by playing the ball to their feet rather than past them.”
Dawson caught a break in the 66th minute as they looked to slot a pass down the middle at the top of the 18-yard box. The Titans clamped down to stop the Dawson striker from getting through but tripped her in the effort, resulting in a penalty kick and Dawson scored on the ensuing free kick for a 2-0 lead. With 14 minutes still on the clock though, the Titans continued to push.
“We kept up pressure after that and still tried to break through,” says Culley.
The final blow came in the 77th minute when Dawson scored again for a 3-0 lead putting the finishing touch on their repeat title denying the Titans a title in their first title game appearance.
The Titans are losing four key varsity players to graduation but after cracking the seal on the state finals, Culley looks forward to continuing the team’s growth next year.
“I’ll be back and I think we have a big freshman class coming in so I’m excited to see those girls play,” says Culley. “It was a really fun season. They grew a lot and exceeded my expectations.”
