The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Face Middle Park on Saturday, November 9 at 1 p.m.
By Than Acuff
After receiving a bye through the first round of the 2A state soccer tournament, the Crested Butte Titans finally got down to business with a 4-0 win over the Telluride Miners on Saturday, November 2 and will host Middle Park in the quarterfinals at Gunnison High School on Saturday, November 9 at 1 p.m.
The Miners faced Front Range Baptist the day before in the first round with the Titans set to play the winner and when Telluride won 2-1, it was met with mixed blessings as Crested Butte had already played Telluride twice during the regular season. While they had beaten Telluride both times, the Miners are notorious for bringing their best to the post season, so the Titans expected a tough test.
“I’ve always found that beating a team three times in a row is an extremely difficult feat to accomplish,” says coach Matt Wilson. “We were cognizant of this fact and challenged the boys both on the pitch and in the classroom in preparation for the Telluride game.”
And that’s exactly what they found in Telluride in the first half as each team fought for 50/50 balls and looked to unlock the final third without much success. Telluride did provide a couple scares on counterattacks and broke through once for an open look on net, but goalkeeper Jakob Klemme came up with a big one-on-one save to deny the Miners’ golden opportunity.
“Those are the types of saves we have to make if we want to make a deep run in the playoffs, and Jake’s save was massive because it kept the momentum flowing in our direction,” says Wilson. “We were dominating the game, but had that shot gone in, then the tides would have turned in Telluride’s favor and changed the landscape and momentum of the game entirely.”
As the first half wore on, the Titans efforts started to pay off and heavy pressure up the field resulted in a turnover by Telluride. Shawn Moran collected the ball and slipped a pass to Tor Jennison who drove a low cross through the 18-yard box to Wyatt Cook crashing the far post and Cook drove the shot past the Miner keeper for a 1-0 lead in the final minute of the first half.
“That goal was huge because historically most goals are scored at the beginning and at the end of the half,” says Wilson. “We preach this concept a lot to the boys both offensively and defensively, so scoring a goal in the last five was just a byproduct of that preparation and focus. Also, it was a beautiful build up and a banger of a finish out of Wyatt as well.”
With both teams even in their efforts for loose balls and solid throughout the field in their shape, it would come down to a special moment from either team to find goals. That moment came nine minutes into the second half as Max Naughton and Moran connected for a couple tidy passes down the middle and one last move by Moran to get past the final Telluride defender opened a look for him and he pushed the ball to the low corner for a 2-0 Titans’ lead.
It appeared the Miners’ effort from the day before started to take its toll as the Titans continued to push the pace as Marin Gardner and Jennison were diligent in the middle while Eli Hulm and Cook were pushing on the Miner defense on the flanks. The constant effort paid off 27 minutes into the second half as a Miner foul set up the Titans with a direct kick from 25 yards out. Moran and Gardner conferred on their plan and while Moran’s strike was less than ideal, it did slip past the Miner goalie for a 3-0 Crested Butte lead.
Ten minutes later Moran and Naughton connected again with Moran completing the hat trick, finishing with a 4-0 win over the Miners.
“I think we took the wind out of Telluride’s sails with that late first half goal, and our boys smelled blood in the water,” says Wilson. “We made a few micro-adjustments at halftime and the boys just went off in the second half winning every challenge and stopping every threat. The boys put on a clinic in the second half and that effort helped seal the win for us against Telluride.”
The Titans now head into the quarterfinals to face Middle Park. Middle Park opened the post season with a 2-0 win over Manual and then knocked off 2A heavyweight Bishop Machebeuf 3-2 to reach the quarterfinals. Crested Butte is slated to host the game but with the impending weather forecast, the game will be played at the Gunnison High School field on Saturday, November 9 at 1 p.m. A win Saturday will send the Titans to the semifinals to face either Jefferson or Forge Christian.
“Middle Park is the next puzzle for the boys to solve, but the playoffs are a different animal this year because there’s only a two-day turnaround before the semifinals,” says Wilson. “So not only do we have to prepare for Middle Park, but we also have to incorporate our preparation for a potential semifinal game two days later. It’s a new challenge and a great puzzle to solve, and I have no doubt the coaching staff and the boys will rise to the occasion.”
