Girls soccer runs through opponents over past week

Host Manitou Springs Saturday at 11 a.m. 

By Than Acuff 

After a couple of weeks of mixed results to open the season, the Crested Butte Titans girls’ soccer team is finding its groove and rattled off three wins in a row to improve to 4-1-2 and are currently ranked third in the state in 2A soccer.

It all started on Wednesday, March 26 when the Titans headed to Salida to face the Spartans. The two teams have deep roots as several players from both teams have joined forces to compete in club tournaments and coaches from the two teams have worked on the same sideline in several of those tournaments.

But on Wednesday “familial” ties were tossed to the side for 80 minutes and the Titans opened the game setting the pace and scoring five minutes into the game when Calla Fenlon tucked in a cross from Molly Miller for a 1-0 lead.

Possession remained the name of the game for both sides as the two teams looked to establish an advantage in the attacking third working through their midfields, but the Titans backline of Madelyn Fitzgerald, Rio Crabtree, Grace Bogard and Lola Wright proved impenetrable leaving the Spartans little to work with in and around the Titans’ net.

Twenty minutes into the first half the Titans struck again when a second corner kick in a row from Fenlon dropped just inside the six-yard box and Thea Barney got a foot on it to tap it over the goalkeeper’s shoulder and into the net for a 2-0 lead.

Both teams remained focused on the task at hand to remain composed and committed to their possession styles of play and Salida eventually found some room to fire a shot from 30 yards out and just under the crossbar to pull back within one. But the strike did nothing to shake up the Titans.

“You could feel that the girls were confident,” says head coach Tom Lewis. “And their confidence was repaid when we scored the next two goals.” 

The Spartans pressed following their goal looking to tie the game, but Crested Butte held off the initial surge and soon turned the tide back in their favor. Continued pressure on attack left Salida back on their heels and when Miller picked off a goal kick, she drove to the line to cross the ball for Hadley Brewer to punch in and a 3-1 Titans’ lead at the half.

The Titans opened the second half just like they did the game, throttle wide open and it paid off just like it did at the start of the game scoring five minutes into the second half. Miller found room to move and rather than try to carry to goal, she played a ball across to Fenlon and Fenlon settled it and fired from 30 yards out over the keeper’s hands for a 4-1 lead. Salida did poke a second goal in later in the game, but the Titans finished it off with a 4-2 win.

“Initially I was a bit frustrated, but I have incredibly high standards,” says Lewis. “Looking back now though I started to see that we were turning a corner in that game and starting to learn how to play together.”

Two days later the Titans were back on the road to face the Ridgway Demons in Ridgway. Last season on the very same field the Titans overcame a lackluster first half to bounce back and escape with a win. This time Crested Butte stayed in control for the entire 80 minutes scoring twice in the first half and twice in the second to roll to a 4-0 win for keeper Bryce Haskell’s first shutout of the season. Goals came from four different players as Fenlon, Miller, Brie Polster and Teagan Turner all scored with Fenlon providing two assists and Dakota Redden one.

“That field is a postage stamp so we were dealing with how to make the field as big as we could,” says Lewis. “We learned how to adapt and came out with four different goal scorers and four different goals and that’s a massive positive.”

The Titans finished it all off on Saturday, March 29 against the Loveland Classical Lions. The Lions are a perennially solid program from the Front Range that are often in the mix of the 2A state tournament. That said the Titans eliminated Loveland Classical from the tournament last year with a 5-0 win and did nearly the same on Saturday handing the Lions a 5-1 loss.

The Lions opened the game inspired to avenge last year’s loss and were pushing into the Titans defensive third but the back four were organized and composed leaving little opportunities for Loveland Classical to find the final touch. The one shot they did get off six minutes into the game was pushed wide by Haskell and the Titans then went to work led by the effort of Nora Thomes.

Thomes has been grinding in the midfield all season with a target on her back and continued to fight off constant pressure by the Lions to help move the ball wide and up the field. Her efforts paid off in the seventh minute when she got on the end of a corner kick from Fenlon to score for a 1-0 Titans’ lead. 

Three minutes later Thomes struck again as she took a pass from Miller and turned to fire the ball into the bottom corner for a 2-0 lead. Four minutes after that Thomes served a pass to Fenlon for Fenlon to score and Crested Butte was up 3-0 just 15 minutes into the game.

“We saw a different side of Nora,” says Lewis. “She was part of everything.”

Things quieted down for Crested Butte but with their defense in place and the midfield doing their jobs, the Lions remained handcuffed in the attacking third and Crested Butte remained on top 3-0 at halftime.

The Lions eventually scored in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Titans responded as Fenlon scored from distance and then tucked home a penalty kick for the hat trick and a 5-1 Titans’ win.

“There was some fatigue from the week but all in all we responded really well,” says Lewis. “The fact that we ended up with a 5-1 win is truly amazing.” 

The Titans have their second league game of the season before they jump back into the deep end of non-league play when they hit the road on Thursday, April 3 to meet the 4A Durango Demons who finished last year ranked third in 4A. Crested Butte then returns home to host a strong 3A side in Manitou Springs on Saturday, April 5 at 11 a.m. on the Katy O. Rady field on the Western campus.

“Adding that level of competition to our schedule is a no-lose situation for us,” says Lewis. “If we lose, we learn. If we win, we realize we can do this and keep a consistency of competition.”