Titans soccer pushes through to 2A state semifinals

“They showed real character and rallied around each other”

By Than Acuff 

After winning their final two games of the regular season to take the league title, the Crested Butte Titans entered the 2A state tournament the third seed and, thus, earned a bye in the first round of the post season.

As a result, they had a 10-day break from action and used the time to get healthy and prepare for the slate of possible opponents ahead with a win or go home format.

“Training was sharp,” says coach Matt Wilson. “The boys handled the break really well as we focused on staying fit, keeping our rhythm, and fine-tuning a few tactical details. It was a good mix of recovery and preparation.”

Following the first round of games, they discovered they would face the Dawson Mustangs bringing two players with over 20 goals each. Other than that, they were a relatively unknown to the Titans; that is, until five minutes into the game when Crested Butte was ahead 2-0 on strikes from Shawn Moran with Max Naughton assisting one and Matias Bonnaterre the other.

The Mustangs shook off the bus ride and got close to scoring twice in the ensuing 15 minutes with Titans keeper Jakob Klemme coming up with both big saves to preserve the early lead.

The quick scare then had the Titans back on track as Moran scored two more goals with an assist coming from Emery White, and Archer Bernholtz closed the first half heading home a corner kick from Tor Jennison for a 5-0 lead at halftime.

“It definitely wasn’t our sharpest start,” says Wilson. “The energy was flat, which can happen after a long layoff, but the boys still took take care of business. We created plenty of chances and finished well, but everyone knew we’d need to raise the standard moving forward.”

The Titans then used the second half to work on additional aspects of their game yet still kept pushing, scoring seven minutes into the second half when Bonnaterre slipped a pass to Naughton for a goal. Fifteen minutes later Jennison hit a wonder strike from 30 yards out and then Kyle Moran assisted Bennett Crabtree for a goal for the 8-0 win.

“It was a reminder to the boys that you can’t just show up in the playoffs and expect results,” says Wilson. “Even though we won comfortably, we knew that performance wasn’t at the level we’d need to advance deeper into the tournament. It helped the boys reset the mentality before facing a tough Telluride side.”

The win over Dawson, and the Telluride Miners win against Colorado Springs Christian, set up the third meeting between the two teams on Saturday, November 8 in Crested Butte in the quarterfinals. The teams had split their previous two meetings during the regular season so the third and final meeting was expected to be a barnburner, and it did not disappoint.

The Miners showed up on a mission and took the game over from the opening kickoff. They appeared to score three minutes into the game, but the goal was disallowed due to an infraction. The ruling did nothing to slow Telluride down and they continued to press dictating play in the midfield and eventually finding the back of the net scoring eight minutes into the game for an early 1-0 lead.

“It was chaotic,” says Wilson. “Both teams came out flying, and it felt like a true playoff battle from the first whistle. Telluride caught us early, and we had to weather that storm a bit.”

It took a little more time before Crested Butte gathered their wits and by the midway point of the first half, they matched the Miner’s energy and started to tip the momentum in their favor. The renewed effort paid off on a set piece as Shawn drove his shot into the upper corner on the near post and the teams were locked in a 1-1 tie at halftime.

“They showed real character and rallied around each other,” says Wilson. “Going down early in a knockout game can rattle teams, but our boys stayed composed and trusted each other. The message was to stay patient and trust the process. We were creating chances and just needed to be more decisive in the final third. We also talked about winning individual battles and keeping our composure because we knew one goal could completely change the game.”

That one goal never came in regulation for either team sending the game into overtime in a “Golden Goal” format, meaning first team to score wins. Crested Butte remained on the throttle before Telluride responded to take back momentum eight minutes into the first overtime. The Titans weathered the storm and after the Miner keeper made an incredible save to deny a Titan strike, Crested Butte set up for a corner kick. Jennison and Shawn set up to go with a short corner kick, but Shawn ended up with a quick cross instead and Bernholtz met the ball in traffic to head it in for the game winning goal sending the Titans to the semifinals.

“The boys rallied together, pushed the tempo, stayed organized, and found the game winner in overtime, it was all heart and resilience,” says Wilson. “Telluride’s a strong team and they made us earn it, but our boys refused to quit. Even when the game wasn’t going our way, they kept trusting in the process and in each other. That’s what separates good teams from great ones this time of year.”