The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Homecoming game Friday at 4 p.m. at CBCS field
By Than Acuff
After edging out a 1-0 win over the Pagosa Springs Pirates early last week at home, the Crested Butte Titans soccer team fell to the Vail Mountain Gore Rangers 2-1 on Saturday, September 21.
It’s been years since the Titans played Pagosa Springs but with the Pirates on an upward trend, they would prove to be a challenging foe for Crested Butte.
The Pirates set the tone in the game early with quick play through the midfield and looking to pick the lock of the tight Titans defense. With Crested Butte’s back four in place and on point and the midfield starting to settle into slowing down the Pirate attack, Crested Butte soon turned the game in their direction with a more composed possession style of play.
Following a scoreless first half, Crested Butte stepped on the gas in the second as their midfield soon took control of the middle of the field and the Titans were on the front foot, but still struggled to find the back of the net.
It took until the final five minutes of the game for the Titans to reap the rewards of their efforts as they converted on a corner kick from Raim Truscott as the ball dropped into the 18-yard box, and bounced around a bit before Wyatt Cook tucked it into the low corner for the 1-0 Titans win.
The Titans then stepped into the deep end of 2A soccer as they hit the road on Saturday to face Vail Mountain. The Gore Rangers took immediate control of the game looking to find seams in the Titans’ back line, but several chances were turned away and Crested Butte was holding on as Vail Mountain continued to attack.
The Gore Rangers’ pressure eventually paid off in a span of three minutes as they converted on a penalty kick and then scored from outside for a 2-0 lead 30 minutes into the game.
The Titans eventually found their feet with Marin Gardner smashing a shot off the crossbar and then found success as Shawn Moran took a pass from Gardner and threaded through two Vail Mountain defenders to score, cutting into the Vail Mountain lead by halftime.
“We absorbed a lot of pressure in the first half. And while we didn’t concede many dangerous opportunities, they controlled possession and the pace of play,” says coach Bradley Davies. “Our effort was there, as evidenced by our first and second ball performance, but we lacked a mental sharpness that we had come to expect as our norm. Our response to going down two in the span of only a few minutes was a highlight of the day. We, as coaches, couldn’t have been more happy with how they responded.”
The second half was a battle with Vail Mountain still dominating as both teams had a couple of slight glimpses on goal including a couple of near misses by the Titans on corner kicks, but neither team could pick the lock of the other as Vail Mountain finished off the Titans 2-1.
“It was a stalemate on the scoreboard, but they brought the better soccer overall,” says Davies. “We did a good job tightening up spaces in the midfield and absorbing pressure at the back. But we were not able to get into an attacking rhythm. Saturday was a tough reality check that will help us improve and prepare us for more difficult games down the road.”
While a loss is tough, there’s more ahead for the Titans as they have a game on the road in Ridgway this week and then host the Telluride Miners for Homecoming on Friday, September 27 at the CBCS field at 4 p.m.
“We learned a lot,” says Davies. “First, we were reminded of how tough our Titans are. It is not easy to play on the road against one of the best teams in the state. It is even more difficult to go down two goals and keep fighting. They did that, and without getting down on one another. We haven’t missed a day of building on what we had the day before. And I see no signs of the boys not continuing this trend. As they do, it will be fun to see how good they can get. It won’t be easy, of course, as there are some very strong teams out there chasing the same dream.”
