Titans soccer advances to state semifinals

Grind out overtime win in quarterfinals

[ by Than Acuff ]

The Crested Butte Titans boys soccer team is headed to the 2A state semifinals after winning their first round match and then battling to a 1-0 overtime win over the Telluride Miners on Saturday, October 30.

The Titans faced the 16th seed of the tournament, Rocky Mountain Lutheran, at Western Colorado University’s Rady Field on Friday, October 29 under the lights to open the 2A tournament.

“We were ready and we wanted the team to come out strong and execute the things we were working on in preparation and to show the state we were worthy of our seeding,” says coach Bob Piccaro.

The Titans spent the first several minutes firing shots from distance to try and break the seal, but it took until the 10th minute to score as Finn Ramsey found Davis McNeill open just outside the 18-yard box and McNeill fired a low shot through traffic and past the keeper.

That first goal then opened the gates for the Titans as they rattled off five more goals, including a birthday goal from Kaiden Marziano, over the next 20 minutes to take a 6-0 lead into halftime.

Crested Butte added two more goals in the second half to finish off the 8-0 win and kept the celebration subdued as they knew they would have a massive test the next day against Telluride in the quarterfinals.

“The team did what we wanted them to do and we were able to get our non-starters additional time on the field which is crucial,” says Piccaro.

Crested Butte and Telluride traded wins during the regular season with the Miners winning the second regular season match 2-0 just one week prior to the quarterfinal game.

The perfect day set the stage for an incredible showdown between the two teams in the do-or-die format of the state tournament. Both teams took that energy to heart as there wasn’t a single player on either team that didn’t open the game at full throttle.

Crested Butte had two chances in the first 20 minutes of the game getting free twice onto the Miners’ goal, but the first attempt slipped wide and the Telluride keeper made the save on the second look in close.

As the first half wore on, the grind was in full effect with each team’s defense holding tight and the midfielders embroiled in battle and when the halftime whistle sounded, they were sitting notched in a 0-0 tie.

“I thought we came out well, had a couple of golden opportunities on breakaways that you just can’t miss or it can come back to bite you,” says Piccaro. “I thought our D was playing strong, winning the 50/50 balls and our midfield was covering a lot of ground in its attempt to control the field.”

The Miners suffered a blow in the second half when they lost one of their central defenders to an injury, but the Miners adjusted and the two teams remained mired in a midfield fight with neither finding the final strike forcing the game into overtime and ramping up the pressure another notch as the first goal scored wins the game.

The difference came seven minutes into the first overtime as Blue Gardner received a pass 25 yards from the face of the goal and turned to look to pass. With no options open, Gardner fired a shot and the ball clipped the bottom of the crossbar and bounced into the back of the net for the game winning strike.

“The only difference in the game was one great shot,” says Piccaro.

The Titans are now headed to the semifinals in Colorado Springs on Saturday, November 6 where they will face Ridgway for the third time this year.

“Each game is a final, so we need to jump in to the next game and win it,” says Piccaro. “We can’t go backwards, just keep improving in all areas and continue to work on strategies and a plan.”