‘Anything Goes’ for Battle Mountain soccer in Glenwood
GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Technically, this was a 10-1 soccer team against a 4-6 one.
Should be easy for the 10-1 Battle Mountain girls soccer team, except for the fact that the Huskies were at Glenwood Springs.
There’s a lot of history and horror for the Huskies at Stubler Memorial Stadium, so Battle Mountain was more than happy to run like the wind from Glenwood with a 4-2 win on Tuesday.
“When the schedule comes out, the girls look, ‘When’s Glenwood away,” said Huskies coach David Cope, who has never been a huge fan of Stubler.
The current seniors had never won at Stubler until Tuesday and it was a nailbiter. The Huskies were down 1-0 after all of three minutes, equalizing with Logan Nash slamming home a Morgan Croke rebound.
Support Local Journalism
Naturally, the Demons took a 2-1 lead on a free kick. Nash, this time from Avery Weaver, evened it up just before halftime.
The Huskies and Demons seemed headed to extra time before Molly Phannenstiel put one over the top to Acacia Ortiz on the breakaway.
Battle Mountain (11-1) would have liked a whistle after that, but, naturally, there was a lot of stoppage time. That allowed the Huskies’ Rachel Ledon to add some insurance. It was a nice time for her first of the season, as she was the leading lady in the school play “Anything Goes.”
“It’s almost not fair that she’s the lead in the play and gets a standing ovation,” Cope joked. “Then, her first game back and she scores.”
Most importantly, the Huskies could leave Glenwood, whistling a happy tune — Gershwin or otherwise.
Battle Mountain is at Palisade on Friday.
GRAND JUNCTION
Devils roll past Tigers
You may go all Jim Mora now.
Eagle Valley girls soccer is on the brink of the state playoffs after a 3-0 win at Grand Junction.
“Playoffs? Playoffs,” bellowed the former Indianapolis Colts coach many years ago.
Yes, Eagle Valley moved to 10-3 with the win and the Devils are very much in the playoff picture.
“At this point, we are starting to talk playoffs,” Devils coach Stephen Baxter said. “It’s super-exciting. Last year, we lost to this team 6-1 at home, so to come back on the road and shut them out is exceptional.”
Rose Sandell and Brennecke Gale shared the shutout between the pipes, while Mariel Gutierrez had a hat trick. Hana Berge and Jessie Adams had assists.
Eagle Valley hosts Delta on Thursday at 6 p.m. and will be honoring its seniors.
EAST VAIL
VMS blanks Cardinals
It is a rather mundane statement, but Vail Mountain School soccer has won six in a row.
Yes, it’s the quality of soccer, which is important, but stringing together six wins is pretty nice, too.
Tess Johnson scored the first two, and Katie Alonzo and Emma Hall found the net, while Grace Merriman assisted on three of those, as the Gore Rangers breezed past Grand Valley, 4-0, at Wembley, er, Bandoni Alumni Field on Tuesday.
VMS (8-1 overall and 6-1 in the 3A/2A Slope) hadn’t played in 11 days due to class trips and weather — Saturday’s tilt at Moffat County was snowed out — but the ladies looked rather sharp.
“We met as a group and talked about what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it,” said Sylvan Ellefson, who is coaching the team with fellow alumni Chris Woods and Kaitlin Zdechlik while Bob Bandoni is out of town. “It was a good example of the group taking ownership.”
And a good example of Bandonese.
VMS hosts Rangely on Thursday as it goes into the stretch drive for playoffs and the quest to wear orange. In a scheduling note, Saturday’s snow out at Moffat County has been rescheduled for Monday. In a piece of news that will warm the hearts of many, that means Bandoni will get to go to Craig, after all.
EDWARDS
Moffat tops Saints
OK, that’s not really how Senior Day is meant to go.
Moffat County, one of the better teams in the 3A/2A Slope, beat Vail Christian, 6-0, on Tuesday at Freedom Park.
But, nonetheless, take a bow, Keelin Robinson, Nina Ferzacca and Rita Sun. These three seniors have helped start Vail Christian turn the program in the right direction.
After a winless season, the Saints are 2-6, including a 2-1 win over Rifle last week.
“Every day, I see improvement,” Vail Christian coach Lauren Mutter said. “I think our team is doing outstanding and, hopefully, more improvement is on the way.”
Vail Christian is at Grand Valley on Thursday.
Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934.
