The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Close out regular season in Telluride
by Than Acuff
After a partial drubbing at the hands of 3A powerhouse Roaring Fork on Tuesday, October 6, the Crested Butte Titans boys’ soccer team recovered to return the favor to 3A team Pagosa Springs and now enter a week off from games and practices.
The Titans knew the Roaring Fork Rams would be tough as the Rams came into the game ranked third in 3A class comprised of schools bigger than Crested Butte.
With that in mind, the Titans went into the game looking to disrupt Roaring Fork’s attacks over the top while compressing the midfield, no easy task to say the least.
“We knew we were facing a major challenge against a top ranked 3A side in Roaring Fork, so one of our main goals was to develop our mid-block against a technically sound possession team,” says coach Matt Wilson.
And while things looked in place for the Titans, the Rams’ energy to open the game made the difference as they scored in the first five minutes. Crested Butte maintained their focus to stem the Ram attack, but Roaring Fork scored again in the 28th minute for a 2-0 lead.
Down but not out, the Titans’ game plan eventually paid off as Tor Jennison and Kyle Moran jumped on a bad touch by the Rams’ defense and Jennison poked the ball to Moran for the finishing touch to pull back into the game before Roaring Fork finished the first half scoring a third goal.
“Roaring Fork did a great job packing the middle of the pitch, making it difficult for us to connect through the thirds,” says Wilson. “But the boys continued to fight and found a goal to make it 2-1. Unfortunately, they scored again before halftime, but I was proud of how the boys continued to compete through a difficult half.”
While Crested Butte refused to fold, the Rams earned a penalty kick in the second half and closed out the 4-1 win over the Titans.
“We conceded four goals overall but limiting them to just one in the second half showed the boys’ patience and improvement in executing that defensive approach,” says Wilson.
The Titans had one more chance to get back on track before heading into the October Break when they hosted the Pagosa Springs Pirates on Saturday, October 10.
Despite constant pressure resulting in several corner kicks for Crested Butte, it wasn’t until the 14th minute of the game before Crested Butte finally capitalized when Wyatt Anders poked in a loose ball on a corner kick melee for a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates eventually tied the game 1-1 but the Titans had the final say of the first half as the Pagosa Springs goalie mishandled a direct kick from Jennison and Crested Butte took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
“We moved the ball reasonably well through the thirds and created plenty of chances, but we weren’t clinical enough in front of goal and made some uncharacteristic defensive mistakes,” says Wilson. “We went into halftime up 2-1, but we knew our performance needed to improve if we wanted to take control of the game. The coaching staff challenged the boys to raise their standards because we didn’t want to head into fall break without competing at our highest level.”
The team answered the call and used the second half to put the game away as Will Stitt and Moran each scored in the first 12 minutes of the half. Jennison added a fifth goal for Crested Butte blasting a shot from 30 yards out just under the crossbar and Isaac Jennings tacked on one final goal for Crested Butte on a set piece from 45 yards out. The Pirates added a second goal to their total down the stretch, but the damage was done as the Titans finished with a 6-2 win and then celebrated seniors Jennison, Jennings, Jakob Klemme and Carter Foltz following the game.
“The boys came out with a ferocity we hadn’t seen in a while, competing for every ball, taking more shots, and showing real courage in 1v1 situations,” says Wilson. “Our defense became more connected and disciplined, and that combination of intensity, tactical adjustments, and collective effort allowed us to take control of the game.”
The Titans now take a break from the action and return to workouts on Monday, October 19 with their final game of the regular season at Telluride on Saturday, October 24 at 11 a.m. Numbers are then crunched before the Titans find out their seed for the 2A state tournament.
