Lacrosse takes on best teams in state

Senior Night Friday, May 1 at 5 p.m.

By Than Acuff

It was a tough stretch of games for the Crested Butte Titans lacrosse team the past several weeks as they faced three top 10 ranked teams in the state and another stout league opponent. While they didn’t come away with a win, they look to build off the experience as they enter the final week of the regular season this week.

It all started well before the April break as the Titans hit the road to face the number one team in the state, Air Academy. Nearly a week later they hosted Grand Junction, the second seeded team in the state, and fell to them 15-4 with goals coming from Dawson Eastep, Luke Walton, AJ Hegeman and Wyatt Cook while Vinny Sciortino provided two assists. Goalie Mason Colucci finished with 18 saves. Their third monumental challenge came on the road as they took on the sixth-ranked Telluride Miners last week and fell 16-1.

“It was definitely a tough stretch but, honestly, that’s exactly the kind of challenge we want,” says assistant coach Alex Solomon. “And while the results didn’t go our way, there were some really encouraging stretches, especially in the second half against Grand Junction and the first quarter against Telluride, where we played our brand of lacrosse and executed at a high level. Those moments showed our guys that when we do things the right way, we can compete with anyone in the state.”

In the midst of all that was the April break and a return to action on Tuesday, April 21 when they hosted the Fruita Monument Wildcats. An opponent that was within reach, but still a mystery as to what Titans team would return from the break. Fortunately, the Titans appeared ready to get back to work.

“The energy was good coming out of the break, but the reality is it’s always a challenge when you’re coming back and your opponent has been playing,” says Solomon. “Fruita is always a tough opponent, especially coming off a week without games. Ideally, we would’ve liked a few more practice days, but our guys were excited for the opportunity to compete again. Our focus going in was to build out of defensive schemes, work on depth at the midfield position with a few position adjustments and younger players stepping up, and to possess the ball on offense.”

The difference between not playing and playing was nearly immediately evident as the Wildcats looked in sync while the Titans seemed to still be finding their feet. Fruita used the opportunity to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter that could have been more had it not been for the pure effort of the Titans and Colucci in net.

Fruita tacked on two more goals to open the second quarter, but the Titans were noticeably more comfortable as the game wore on, and they responded in the final minute as Walton scored. Unfortunately, Fruita had the last say of the first half with a fifth goal for a 5-1 lead at halftime.

“We’ve had a tendency to start games a little flat and end up playing catch-up, and Fruita was no different,” says Solomon. “Halftime gave us a chance to regroup, break down what we saw in the first half, and make some adjustments. Coach Carter really challenged the guys to find another gear and go out and play our style of lacrosse.”

The Titans responded and after the Wildcats scored a sixth goal in the opening minute, Crested Butte started to get back to their game and gain even more confidence. Just a minute after Fruita’s goal, Hegeman dished the ball wide to Walton and Walton fired his shot past the Wildcat goalie. Two minutes later the Titans struck again as Sciortino played a long pass to Donovan Gagen on the doorstep and Gagen stuffed it in to pull the Titans back within three forcing Fruita to call a timeout.

The Wildcats answered back with a goal, but Bennett Crabtree drove to goal and dished the ball off to Walton for his third goal of the game to pull the Titans back to within three headed into the fourth quarter.

“The energy was high heading into the fourth quarter,” says Solomon. “Our guys had shown they could compete with Fruita and put themselves in a position to win. The message was to keep playing our game and stay disciplined.”

The Titans ultimately ran out of wind. While they remained in the hunt to open the fourth quarter with Walton driving from behind the goal to score, the Wildcats responded almost immediately to take the wind out of the Titans’ sails and seal the 9-5 win. Colucci finished the day with 23 saves.

“Our lack of depth, especially at the midfield position, made it tough to sustain that level through the final stretch,” says Solomon. “The guys competed hard, made adjustments and stayed engaged throughout. We moved some players around to help with depth and implemented a few new offensive and defensive looks, and I thought they responded well. Defensively, I thought we played really well. It was a game where we were right there and gave ourselves a chance.”

 The Titans close out the regular season this week with games against Summit high school and then Senior Night at home on Friday, May 1 at 5 p.m. against Glenwood Springs. The hope is all the work over the course of the season will continue to come to fruition and they can finish hitting two preseason goals, a winning record and making the playoffs.

“Overall, I like where we’re at, we’re continuing to grow and becoming more complete as a team,” says Solomon. “We’ve got a big week ahead that will really impact where we finish this season. The team understands what’s in front of them, and we expect them to rise to the occasion.”