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Castillo scores five; Eagle Valley drops Middle Park, 6-3

Chris Freud
Vail, CO Colorado

GRANBY ” Soccer can be a very simple game.

When your star striker drops in five goals in a game, as Eagle Valley junior Cesar Castillo did in the Devils’ 6-3 win Friday at Middle Park, the game isn’t too complicated.

On the other hand, when you do a lot of little important things, as the Devils did in their opener, it portends well for the rest of the season.



“It feels really good,” Eagle Valley coach Jason Rittmiller said. “We learned a lot about who’s on this team and what this year’s team is going to do. We feel good. We know what changes we need to make. We’re able to go forward from here.”

Eagle Valley never trailed, leading 4-2 at the half. Castillo, who lead the 4A Slope in goals as well as setting the school record last year, had high expectations for 2007. Five goals in a game? Maybe not that high, but the Devils will take it.

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“He did what he went out to do,” Rittmiller said. “He was able to do what he did because of how the team played.”

One such example was Castillo’s highlight-reel goal of the game off a beautiful feed from fellow striker Fidel Macias. Macias crossed the ball into the box and Castillo leapt into the air and headed the ball back into the net.

Abraham Fernandez also had a goal, and Adrian Aguilar and Jorge Valenzuela had assists in the Devils’ first win of the year.

Trevor Grayson went most of the way in net with 10 saves, while Fernandez relieved him.

Rittmiller was also pleased with the way his team won a majority of the 50-50 balls against the Panthers. He also had kudos for the complementary play of midfielder Aguilar and fullback Steve White, who supported each other when the other made runs downfield.

Meanwhile, the defense passed its first test.

“Our defense was bullet-proof,” Rittmiller said. “They worked together famously.”

As is always the case after the first game, the Devils still have a lot to work on before heading to Coal Ridge Thursday at 4 p.m.

“We’re going to run some miles,” Rittmiller said. “We’ve done some power work, but we started to tucker out in the second half. We need to finish harder. We are quick. We were outrunning them for every ball.”

Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 748-2934 or cfreud@vaildaily.com.


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