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Huskies down Moffat

Chris FreudVail, CO Colorado
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EDWARDS – Where’d the 20-minute hammer down go?Fans coming to see the Battle Mountain girls’ soccer know to arrive on time because usually things happen rather quickly. With the exception of Steamboat Springs, Battle Mountain usually puts up five goals in the first 20 minutes and that’s that.So with the Huskies leading Moffat County just 2-0 at the break Tuesday, there was mild concern – nothing that couldn’t be cured by a rapid-fire succession of five goals in the second half on the way to a 7-0 win.”I just feel like we came out slow,” midfielder Emily LyBarger said. “We weren’t finding (our feet) as well and we weren’t connecting passes. Overall, we didn’t come out as strong as we should have.””We were spinning the wheels a little bit,” Huskies coach David Cope said. “It was funny because (Monday)’s session was devoted to shooting from outside the box and we were terrible today. So that didn’t work.”Whatever it was – the Huskies hitting a lot of iron, Moffat playing better soccer after Monday’s win over Eagle Valley or just one of those days – the Huskies upped their record to 11-0-1 and took one step closer to the league title.

AdjustmentsCope moved Kelly Bowles and Kelly Van Hee to the back, replacing Jamie Lee Roberts and McKenzie Stevens who were at the Huskies’ track meet up in Eagle-Vail, but that didn’t faze the two playing with regular fullback Sydney Nichols.”We were like a Kelly sandwich there with Syd,” Bowles joked.Bowles got Battle Mountain’s first, followed by the familiar refrain of Julia Burnett to Kelsey Sanders for the first-half scoring.Despite a subpar first half Battle Mountain got it going.”I think it just happens,” VanHee said. “That’s how sports are. You just have to push through it and go and just battle it out. We got out on our little run and just went from there.”VanHee drew a penalty to start the second half. Sanders did the honors ripping the twine from 35 yards out. Burnett scored on a breakaway and the Huskies were finally rolling.”I think they got down a little bit in the second half when (Battle Mountain) scored a couple of goals,” Moffat coach Seth Young said. “We fell into a defensive game and just didn’t bring our game out.”

Burnett, LyBarger and the crossbar combined on the Huskies fifth. Burnett fed the ball nicely to LyBarger in the box. The midfielder slammed the ball off the crossbar, but the rebound came right back to LyBarger, and she didn’t miss twice.”I was just going far post,” LyBarger said. “I saw Burnett. I tried to one-time it with the outside of my foot. It hit the bar and came right back out. So I just put it back in.”LyBarger wasn’t the only Battle Mountain player familiar with the frame. Reserve Leia Cahill managed to hit both posts on one shot without scoring.”I thought Leia’s goal, or lack of goal, was good,” Cope said with a laugh, wondering how her shot did not go in. LyBarger fed Burnett for her second and Marisa Ammaturo finished the scoring.Glenwood



Battle Mountain heads to Glenwood Springs Thursday at 4 p.m. The resurgent Demons and Stubler Memorial Field, where the bizarre always seems to happen to Huskies soccer, await.At 10-0-1 in the 4A Slope, the Huskies trail Steamboat Springs (11-1-1) in the points column. The Huskies would like four points in the next two games to clinch the league title before the season-ending road trip at Delta May 1.”I think the Glenwood game is going to have a playoff atmosphere,” Cope said. “Glenwood’s had a great season. They struggled a little bit when they came here, but they need this win to get into the playoffs. We expect them to be very tough to beat on their home field.”Just for kicksBattle Mountain’s cadre of goalies, led by Kori Landauer, recorded its 10th shutout of the season, matching the 2005 team’s mark. … Gianbottiglio went to Cahill, while Bowles got the Defensive Rock. … Cope is doubtless in good mood today as Manchester United edged AC Milan, 3-2, in stoppage time in the first leg of Champions League semifinal play.Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 748-2934 or cfreud@vaildaily.com.


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