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Huskies soccer two games away after win

David Pressgrove
Special to the Daily/David PressgroveBattle Mountain senior Taylor Telling tries to save the ball after taking it from Moffat County senior Jose "Pepe" Loya. Telling and the Husky defense limited Loya, the Western Slope League's leading scorer, to one goal in a 2-1 win.
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CRAIG – This one was for grandpa.Battle Mountain senior Joel Gonzales told coach Dave Cope on the bus ride to Moffat County that his grandfather had passed away last weekend and was being buried on Tuesday. The, Gonzales informed his coach he was going to score for grandpa.It took two minutes for that promise to be fulfilled. And why not add another for good measure?Gonzales scored both of Battle Mountain’s goals in a 2-1 win at Moffat County Tuesday. “That was special for Joel,” Cope said. “I’m happy for him.”Maybe Gonzales had a little help from his grandpa because the rest of the Huskies had a hard time finding the net against the scrappy Bulldogs.

Hillewaert shinesThe Huskies took 35 shots in the game, 24 of which were saved by Moffat County keeper Malcolm Hillewaert.”Their keeper made two world-class saves,” Cope said. “I thought we really made only on miscue on defense and you can’t make a mistake against a player like Jose Loya.”Jose “Pepe” Loya tied the game up for Moffat County when he snuck behind the Huskies’ offside trap and put a Nate Berner pass into the net at the 37th minute.The 2-1 game in Craig and 4-0 game in Eagle-Vail, both in favor of Battle Mountain, matched the same scores as last year. Moffat County coach Jeff Hammond hoped his team’s effort would carry into the playoffs.”I really felt we put all that we learned all year into this game,” Hammond said. “We made a couple of mistakes on defense or that game would have went into overtime.”

Joel strikes againGonzales’ second goal came after the Huskies’ relentless attack kept getting stopped short by a shot a few feet off or right to Hillewaert. The Battle Mountain senior fired a shot through several Bulldog defenders from the 18 and it found the net in the 18th minute.”We tried to clog it up in the middle,” Hammond said. “It made for some intense moments with loose balls, but I thought it worked well.”Hillewaert was disappointed in his team’s play after the second goal was scored.”I felt like we let up after that goal,” he said. “We lost our edge.”A perfect 15-0?



The win gets the Huskies two wins from a perfect regular season.”(An undefeated record) is what we really want right now,” Gonzales said. “It’s hard to keep the focus a little because we’ve already won league, but no losses helps stay motivated.”Cope’s team is hoping to give the seeding committee for the playoffs no reason not to place the Huskies high. He also thought that the other teams in the league like Moffat should get more respect.”I really think our league is underrated,” he said. “I think Moffat could make a run if they play like they did today.”As for his team, “We’d like to see a top-four seed, but the only thing we can control is what goes on, on the field.”The Huskies have two more challengers of the undefeated season. Friday the Huskies are at Steamboat Springs, and Saturday, they travel to Summit.Vail, Colorado


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