The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Rematch with Telluride
by Than Acuff
After a couple of tough overtime losses to stronger teams in their division, the Crested Butte Titans girls soccer team got a chance to relax and rekindle their scoring ways, cruising to a 7-0 win over the Center Vikings on Friday, April 28 in Gunnison.
Following the April break, the Titans went back to work, including finally getting to practice on grass, as coach Julia Kidd impressed upon them the importance of forward pressure and taking advantage of scoring opportunities.
“It’s really nice to be outside now,” says Kidd. “We used the opportunity to pump them up for an offensive assault and focused on corners and directs from just outside the penalty area and capitalizing on those scoring opportunities.”
The Titans met Center earlier in the season fielding numerous JV players and battled to a 2-0 win. This time around coach Julia Kidd went with her starting varsity to get the squad additional time on the field as they prepare for a rematch with Telluride.
The Titans went to work immediately, taking control of possession and pressing into the attacking third almost at will. Mya Shaffer opened the scoring in the sixth minute, Murphy Sloan tacked on a second Titans goal nine minutes later, Sydney Stoneberg netted a third goal in the 22nd minute and Shaffer scored once again in the 33rd minute for a 4-0 Titans lead at halftime.
The Titans went back to work to open the second half as Tess Fenerty scored two goals in a span of six minutes and Kidd then eased off the throttle, mixing up positions and giving the team a chance to continue working on possession.
“We just slowed it down scoring-wise but tried to still play possession soccer and get the varsity to work on things, but it was hard to keep the intensity level in a game like that,” says Kidd.
Center did get a chance to break the shut-out with a penalty kick but Shelby LaDuke made the save and Rachel Potoker finished the game with one last Titans goal for the 7-0 win.
“It felt good to get a solid win,” says Kidd. “The girls liked playing something new and trying out new positions.”
The Titans have a full week of contests as they face Telluride, Ignacio and Montrose to close out the season.
“We need to figure out how to get past that high keeper that Telluride plays and bring up the intensity on offense that Telluride has,” says Kidd.
Following this final week of play, the Titans will sit and wait to see if their season will continue, as the seedings for the 2A state tournament will be announced on Sunday, May 7.
“I just don’t know how it will all play out,” says Kidd. “We may still have a shot.”
The Titans will host their final home game of the season on Thursday, May 4 in Gunnison when they host Ignacio. The JV kicks off at 4 p.m. with the varsity lining up at 5:30 p.m.
