Crested Butte Titans girls’ soccer opens postseason with big win

Look forward to quarterfinal showdown

[  by Than Acuff  ]

Paced by a hat trick from Calla Fenlon, a composed and organized midfield and a stout back line and a couple of big saves from goalkeeper Bryce Haskell, the Crested Butte Titans girls’ soccer team handed the Colorado Springs Christian Lions a 5-2 defeat in the second round of the 2A state tournament and will face Frontier Academy in the quarterfinals.

Due to the post season schedule, the quarterfinal will have happened by the time the paper hits the stands but a win in the quarterfinals will push the Titans into the semifinals on Saturday, May 16 at a neutral site in Denver.

The two teams met exactly one week before their playoff game and finished with a 0-0 tie. But that was at the end of a six-game stretch for Crested Butte, and the Titans had a full week to prepare for the Lions this time around.

“Having a week of practice was huge,” says head coach Tom Lewis. “We hadn’t had that since preseason. We were back at 100 percent, and it showed.”

While Colorado Springs Christian stepped on the throttle to open the game searching for that all important first goal, the Titans held them off and soon turned the game in their favor creating a couple early chances to score. 

The Lions did come close 17 minutes into the game when their direct kick hit off the crossbar but just a mere 60 seconds later the Titans responded to the scare when Nora Thomes switched the ball through the midfield to Fenlon and Fenlon took a touch and fired for the goal and a 1-0 Titans’ lead.

“That was huge,” says Lewis. “When you score first it pulls the other team out because they have to attack.”

That reality opened up two chances for the Titans to get behind the Lions’ back line for one-on-ones with the goalie and while the keeper made both stops, the Titans continued to push the pace on attack.

Haskell came up with two key saves to deny the Lions and then Crested Butte had the final say of the first half as Jane Barvitski gathered a loose ball and slotted the pass through to Fenlon for an open look and Fenlon finished it off for a 2-0 lead at halftime.

“That was a big confidence boost going into halftime,” says Lewis.

That little bit of breathing room played out as Colorado Springs Christian earned a penalty kick in the opening minute of the second half and scored. But that did little to slow Crested Butte down and four minutes later the Titans responded when Cecilia Naughton found some room from 20 yards out and popped a shot over the Lions goalie and in for a 3-1 lead.

“Credit to the players for keeping their head on after the penalty kick,” says Lewis. “We went on attack and showed that goal didn’t matter.”

The Titans remained on the front foot and tacked on a fourth goal when Barvitski chased down another through ball and dropped it back to Fenlon at the top of the 18-yard box and Fenlon dropped it over the Lions goalie and into the back of the net for a 4-1 lead.

The Lions struck one last time converting off a long throw but six minutes later Crested Butte answered back as Thomes slipped a pass through traffic to Barvitski and Barvitski drilled her shot near post to seal the 5-2 win.

“Saturday was a culmination of a lot of the things we’ve been working on all season,” says Lewis. “I won’t say we’re peaking but we’re playing the way we want to play at the right time.”

The Titans now prepare for their quarterfinal game and look to reach the semifinals on Saturday, May 16 in Denver.

“We’re just going to work on some things that are in our control that we saw in the game last weekend and get reps in on those,” says Lewis. “One game at a time.”