The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Still win two of three
By Than Acuff
The hope was that after winning the Crested Butte Adult Soccer tournament put on by the West Elk Soccer Association (WESA) last summer, the Kickers had found the perfect mix and would repeat the victory at the 30th annual last weekend Saturday and Sunday, June 28-29.
Unfortunately, in such a tightly contested tournament format, losing is not an option and the Kickers suffered a big setback in their opening game against Megaton out of Ft. Collins on Saturday morning.
Everything seemed to be going great for the Kickers in the opening 10 minutes as they took control of the midfield and continued to press into the attacking third of the field over and over again. Their effort opened a good look from Brice Koval, but his shot was denied yet the Kickers continued to push hard. Meanwhile, Megaton was denied any semblance of counterattacks with Ryan Abott in the middle of the Kickers’ back line and a rotating crew of all-star flanks in Lauren Swanback, Anika Engholm, Carly Bean and Laurel Fisher.
The problem was, the Kickers still looked down the middle against Megaton and they had a mega central defender that left little room for Brice, Graham Koval and Alex Augusta to operate.
Michael Henry came onto the field at midfield to continue the effort of JJ O’Neal, but the Megaton defense proved impenetrable, and Megaton would soon get a break when they picked off a pass at midfield, played it forward immediately and scored for a 1-0 lead. Megaton then struck again four minutes later on a set piece and took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
The Kickers opened the second half much like they did the first, trying to unlock Megaton’s defense. But much like the black knight at the bridge in the Holy Grail, none shall, or did, pass as Megaton held on for the 2-0 win.
That left the fate of the Kickers’ repeat title chances in the hands of others. A win here, a loss there, maybe even a tie could push them through, but one thing was for sure, if they lost another game a repeat title run was out of the question.
With that in mind, the Kickers returned to the field Saturday afternoon to face a team out of Boulder to show what a defending title team looks like scoring in the fourth minute as Mathieu Vezies hit a knuckleball shot from 40 yards out that befuddled the Boulder keeper for a 1-0 Kickers’ lead.
Crested Butte continued their efforts with the only thing standing in their way being themselves as they continuously complicated issues nearly every time they got close to the Boulder goal.
Fresh legs and minds then stepped on the field for the Kickers and the change provided some clarity as they started to look wide when entering the attacking third. The difference paid off almost immediately as a ball wide found Rebecca Calhoun open and she carried it forward to then cross it into Swanback who punched it home for a 2-0 Kickers’ lead in the 20th minute.
Tom Lewis, who admits “milk turns quicker than I do” still showed a glimpse of his crafty self when he looked to flick a pass over the Boulder keeper only to have it fly just high of the crossbar.
Boulder had the last say of the half as they scored and then spent the better part of the second half looking to equalize. Fortunately, the Kickers have Jorge Rodriguez in goal, and he came up with numerous saves to earn MVP chants and help hold the Kickers’ 2-1 lead until their offense found their rhythm once again.
Pressure creates opportunities and opportunities turn into goals and that’s just what happened as Brice drove into the 18-yard box to get tripped up and earn a penalty kick. Brice finished off the penalty kick for an insurance goal in the 30th minute and four minutes later Brice and Graham played some tika-taka keep away to score a fourth goal and finish off with a 4-1 Kickers’ win.
Once all games were completed Saturday it became obvious that a repeat Crested Butte title was out of reach, and they congregated that night to commiserate over lost opportunities and empty glasses showing up for their final match of the weekend Sunday morning a little bit slower but determined to finish the weekend on a high note against a team out of the Loveland area.
Fortunately, their opponent was in the same boat and Crested Butte went immediately to work as Graham set up Brice for a shot outside the 18-yard box and Brice fired it past the Loveland goalie for a 1-0 lead four minutes into the game.
Cooper McNealus stepped onto the field to help further the Kickers’ effort and had an immediate impact. With Augusta causing trouble for Loveland’s back line, McNealus had room to move eventually drawing a foul. As Loveland organized to defend the set piece, McNealus seized the opportunity to fire a quick shot catching Loveland asleep and giving Crested Butte a 2-0 lead.
O’Neal maintained his solid work at midfield through the second half and the effort of the Kicker women picked up the slack left by the Kicker men as Crested Butte continued to pepper the Loveland net with shots. The Loveland keeper stood on his head to deny several shots by the Kickers and Loveland eventually scored late in the game, but Crested Butte would not fold and sealed their 2-1 win to finish the tournament in style. Real Kong FC out of Grand Junction would eventually take the tournament title and have their name be the first one etched on the new tournament trophy for eternity, certainly a sight to behold.
