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Huskies booters take down Delta

Chris Freud
Preston Utley/Vail DailyBattle Mountain's Julia Burnett (14) takes a shot on goal as Delta goalkeeper Tanesha Smith comes out to block the ball as it just misses the net during the Huskies' 2-0 win over Delta Saturday in Edwards.
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EDWARDS – Good hafltime speech, Cope.Tied 0-0 Saturday against Delta as the Huskies girls soccer team was earlier this month against Steamboat Springs, coach David Cope began his musings.”I said that I thought we looked like the better team against Steamboat. I had a friend from Pittsburgh in town who said, ‘I don’t know what you said at halftime. That didn’t work,'” said Cope whose team went on to lose, 3-0. “Now, I’m feeling better about my halftime speeches.”That’s because the Huskies went on to a 2-0 win over the visiting Panthers to move to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the Slope.”We dominated in chances, but we didn’t put it away,” Cope said. “We hit two crossbars. We were saying in the huddle, ‘Don’t change anything. Keep playing and something good will happen.'”Well, start calling Cope Nostradamus.Just two minutes into the second frame, Morgan Wallace found Kelsey Sanders. Sanders collided with Panthers goalie Tanesha Smith. She won the battle and got the open net goal.With five minutes left, Allison O’Neill dribbled her way through Delta’s offsides trap and went far post from the left side for some insurance.Mr. G went to Miss G – Erika Ghent. Christie Madison got “The Bag” for holding down the midfield.The Huskies have spring break off, but will have to be sharp upon their return. That’s because they host Glenwood Springs April 5 at 4 p.m. in a game with major postseason implications. Steamboat Springs leads the Slope at 5-0 and has wins over both the Huskies and Demons.”Whoever wins that game is going to have a chance the second time against Steamboat and will possibly be playing for the league title,” Cope said. “If you lose, you’re probably playing for second place.”

That having been said, let’s hope Cope has a good halftime speech ready.VMS crushes OlatheOLATHE – The Vail Mountain School soccer team enjoyed its long sojourn to Olathe Saturday so much that the Gore Rangers are going even farther on Tuesday – to Rangely for their Slope opener.Please, no more Paonia jokes.VMS smashed Olathe, 7-1, in the land of sweet corn Saturday for its first win of the year.”The response to our halftime changes was encouraging,” said VMS coach Bob Bandoni, who was be rumored to bringing home a bushel of corn to feed his family for Easter. “They came in from the first half and their learning curve is very steep. The game served its purpose, and the players responded to this, in that it allowed them to see the patterns developing within the system we’re playing.”In Bandon-ese, that means the Gore Rangers started using their space well and that led to a lot of kernels’ worth of goals. Molly Etters scored VMS’ first goal of the season. Z Warren added one late in the first half to give the Gore Rangers the lead for good at 2-1.VMS exploded for five in the final 40 minutes. Warren ended the day with a hat trick. Maddie Sullivan had one and Lani Bruntz added two.”Lani’s learning to use the space around her and learning to play effectively without the ball,” Bandoni said. “She really put herself in a number of situations where she was quite dangerous.”Though it was a comfortable win, Bandoni also had high praise for keeper Della Elich, who made a key save in the first half and stopped a penalty kick in the second.And so, the Children of the Corn, known as VMS girls soccer team, head to Rio Blanco County to face the Rangely Panthers.

Do send us a postcard.VMS tennis takes thirdDELTA – The VMS booters aren’t the only ladies who’ve got game.Meet the Vail Mountain tennis team. After four tough head-to-head losses in their first season, the Gore Rangers broke out this weekend with a third-place finish at the Delta County Tournament.VMS ended up tied with Hotchkiss and only behind far-bigger schools Grand Junction and Montrose.”We have a wide variety of experience,” coach Rob Honzo said. “We’re a young team with a couple of seniors. Our level of play is right up there with some of the best teams. We’re playing great.”That certainly could be said of the doubles’ tandem of Lara Green and Britney Brown. They won first doubles this weekend and are undefeated this season. In other doubles’ action, Suzette Irons and Ily Dorgan took fifth in third doubles. Catherine Gerkin and Zoie Liotta were fourth in the fourth-doubles spot.In first singles, Briton Bock led the way in second. Jenna Tjossem brought home third in second singles and Paige Bennett was fifth in third singles.VMS tennis is off for spring break and has its first home match against Steamboat Springs at the Homestead Court Club in Edwards on April 7.



Saints track soars at BrightonBRIGHTON – Fans at Vail Christian know that Megan Doughty has jump. She was the starting point guard for the basketball team this winter.But she also apparently can jump, too.In her first track competition Saturday, Doughty went 11 feet, 8 inches in the long jump, good for eighth place at the Brighton Mercury Classic.Against 4A and 5A schools, the 2A Saints turned in some great performances.Chief among them was Leslie Peterson. In the 400 meters, Peterson took home gold in 60.96 seconds. More importantly, that prequalifies the junior for the state meet in May. Molly McGee (1 minute, 6.68 seconds) took sixth in the 400.Welcome back, Rachel Glandorf. The senior got back from her mission trip in Costa Rica in time to finish fourth in the 800 in 2:04.6. She was also fifth in the 1600, clocking in at 6:05.24.In relay action, the girls 800 of Petersons (Leslie and Karlie), Doughty and Molly McGee were fourth in 2:04.6. The 1600 relay – McGee, Karlie Peterson, Glandorf and Leslie Peterson – is coming into form. The quartet was third in 4:34.92.”They’re getting there,” Saints coach Bob Isbell said. “Bless her heart, the 400 distance isn’t Karlie Peterson’s specialty. But, she’s doing a great job stepping up and helping the team there.”The Saints are next at Eaglecrest SaturdaySports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 614 or cfreud@vaildaily.com.Vail, Colorado


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