The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“They played with intense grit and battled a good team to the very end”
[ by Than Acuff ]
Following a strong 5-0 outing against the Gunnison Cowboys on Tuesday, September 27, the Crested Butte Titans boys soccer team headed to Carbondale on Friday, September 30 to face the 3A defending state champion Roaring Fork Rams and lost 1-0.
The Gunnison Cowboys high school soccer program is just four years old and qualified for the 3A state tournament last year in their first season as a varsity program. This year, the Cowboys continue to gain momentum racking up a number of wins against established 3A schools heading into the game against the Titans. The Titans, meanwhile, have seen success this season as well but have only been tested on a couple of occasions so they were looking forward to their game against Gunnison and the first varsity soccer game between the two schools ever.
“We knew it would be a hard-fought battle against a team that has been improving and wanted a piece of us,” said coach Bob Piccaro.
Gunnison started from the opening kickoff using a combination of pure hustle and some quality play to gain an advantage in the early stages of the match, but the Titans remained composed through the first 15 minutes of chaos. As the first half continued, the Titans started to turn the game in their favor as they found their groove to open up opportunities in the attacking third, but the Cowboys’ organized defensive shape held off the Titan attack to keep the game deadlocked 0-0 by halftime.
“Gunnison was aggressive on the ball and we weren’t using the flanks enough, instead we were just trying to jam it up the middle,” says Piccaro. “I also think playing in front of their crowd kept Gunnison’s intensity at an elevated level.”
Crested Butte picked up where they left off in the second half but effort from their strikers and work on the flanks paid off nine minutes into the second half as the Titans converted on a set play. A chip pass from Ace Gaither dropped into the six-yard box and Brendan Hartigan poked it past the Gunnison keeper.
The Titans continued to dictate possession, but the effort of Gunnison continued to pose issues for the Crested Butte team. But persistent pressure by Crested Butte in the Cowboys’ half came through again 18 minutes later as a shot from 20 yards out by Nathan Sawyer slipped through the Gunnison keeper’s hands and trickled in for a 2-0 lead. Four minutes later Jacob Bernholtz dished a pass off to Sawyer Barney and Barney’s high floater shipped under the crossbar and then slipped a pass across to Blue Gardner four minutes later for a fourth Titan goal. Crested Butte capped the five-goal second half as Gardner then dished the ball off to Bernholtz and Bernholtz picked the low corner for the 5-0 win.
“We asked the strikers to be the hardest working players on the field and they did. Plus, we started moving the ball faster through the midfield,” says Piccaro. “Some tough breaks for Gunnison also helped turned the tide in our favor throughout the half.”
Crested Butte then turned their attention to another tough battle later that week as they headed to Carbondale to face the Roaring Fork Rams. The game would be a classic showdown between the defending 3A state champion Rams and 2A state champion Crested Butte.
“We were very excited for the showdown,” says Piccaro. “We were missing some key players but the ones that were there knew they had to step up their game.”
Crested Butte took the first jab in the opening five minutes with a couple of quick passes setting up chances on the Rams’ net, but the shots were turned away. As the game continued, Roaring Fork picked up their pace and the two teams were entrenched in a back-and-forth battle with both defenses locking up their opponent’s offense. Max Naughton was called on to step into a varsity role in goal and he came up with a couple of key saves as well and the teams were deadlocked 0-0 at halftime.
The difference came in the 60th minute when a Roaring Fork player blasted a shot from 20 yards out for a 1-0 advantage. Crested Butte continued to battle back as the steady rain turned the field into a slop fest, but they never cracked the Rams’ defense to tie the game eventually falling 1-0.
“It was a tough match, back and forth, but other than the first five minutes, where we had a couple of good scoring chances, we couldn’t crack their D,” says Piccaro. “Our D played amazing, as did people filling in spots for missing starters. It was a mud bowl and Roaring Fork had some excellent players and the goal was off a great shot.”
While the energy and intensity were there, the 1-0 loss was still a tough pill to swallow for the Titans. Still, there was some things to be proud of.
“They played with intense grit and battled a good team to the very end,” says Piccaro.
The Titans have one more game against Caprock Academy this week before they head into the October Break. When they return, they close the regular season with league games against Ridgway and Telluride on October 20 and October 22.
