The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Those goals flipped the switch on everything”
By Than Acuff
After a hesitant opening half, the Crested Butte Titans soccer team woke up to rattle off five goals in the second half to take down the Vail Mountain Rangers 5-1 at Homecoming on Friday, September 19.
While Vail Mountain came into the match winless thus far this season, they had faced several top teams, so it was slated to be a tough showdown for the Titans. Furthermore, Crested Butte had yet to beat Vail Mountain in all the previous times they’d met.
“They’ve been a hurdle for us for years, so we knew the bar was high,” says coach Matt Wilson. “They are disciplined, technical, and tough to break down, so we came in knowing every detail would matter.”
In the opening minutes it looked like Vail Mountain would have the edge once again as they started to push on Crested Butte and came close to opening the scoring using their midfield to create a direct attack on the Titans’ net.
But the Titans’ back four of AJ Hegeman, Archer Bernholtz, Beckett Kidd and Isaac Jennings proved impenetrable leaving nothing for the Rangers to finish when it mattered most. Meanwhile, Vail Mountain’s effort defensively was similarly strong, and the Titans struggled to find any openings moving forward as well leaving the teams in a 0-0 tie by the end of the first half.
“The energy was a little flat and we came out sluggish, which made us slow to settle into our rhythm,” says Wilson. But, once we shook that off, things started to turn around.”
The turnaround was immediately evident as Crested Butte stepped on the front foot to start dictating play and pace pressing into the attacking third in the opening minute of the second half.
“At halftime we talked about resetting, raising the intensity, and getting back to our style of play,” says Wilson. “Once the boys focused on moving the ball quicker and pressing with urgency, the game completely shifted.”
The initial effort paid off right away as Kyle Moran scored on a corner kick from Tor Jennison three minutes into the second half. Two minutes later the Titans struck again as Shawn Moran slipped a pass through to Matias Bonnaterre and Bonnaterre tucked in the far corner for a 2-0 lead.
“Those goals flipped the switch on everything,” says Wilson. “The change in momentum was instantaneous, and it gave us the spark and confidence to push forward instead of chasing the game.”
Six minutes later the Titans struck a third time when Max Naughton drove to the endline and fed Kyle inside the six-yard box for his second goal of the game. Vail Mountain converted on a direct kick to make a 3-1 game midway through the second half, but Bonnaterre struck again driving past three Vail Mountain players to score for a 4-1 lead. The final strike came in the final two minutes of the game as Tanner Harpel drew a foul inside the penalty area and was handed the ball for the penalty kick which he subsequently buried to finish off the 5-1 Titans’ win.
“We decided not to give Vail Mountain as much respect in the second half as we did in the first half,” says Wilson. “In the second half we played with much more confidence and conviction. The boys connected passes, attacked in numbers, and kept the pressure on. Once we got rolling, we just didn’t let up.”
The Titans will now head to Telluride to face the Miners on Friday, September 26 with the Miners looking stronger than ever with a 6-1 record, some wins against top 2A opponents.
“Telluride’s always a tough place to play, and they’re dangerous this year,” says Wilson. “It’s going to be a high-energy match, and we’ll need to rely on each other from the first whistle if we want to get a result on the road.”
The Titans then return home to host Gunnison on Wednesday, October 1. Kickoff is at 4 p.m.
