The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate soccer team fell to 5-5-1 with one regular-season game left after back-to-back losses to Crested Butte and Alamosa.
The Pirates defeated Bayfield at home on Oct. 8 to end a two-game slide, then lost two in a row.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, the Pirates hosted Bayfield for their final home game of the season.
The Pirates entered the game having just been on the losing end of two matches with Montezuma-Cortez, but were able to beat the Wolverines 3-2 and get back to their winning ways.
The Pirates went up 2-0 in the first half and then closed out the Wolverines with another goal in the second half.
Hudson Davis, Ryder King and Ryan Rich all netted goals for the Pirates in the match, and Samson Dennis and Edgar Castillo each notched an assist.
The win gave the seniors a chance to celebrate one last home win with their friends and family.
Two days later, the Pirates loaded up the bus and headed to Crested Butte for a matchup with the reigning 2A state champions. The Titans bested the Pirates 6-2 behind a four-goal second half on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 10.
“We knew going into it, they’re a well-run program,” said coach Trevor Gian. “They’re gonna have a good team. They’re gonna be well-coached and ready to play. And that’s exactly what we ran into at the beginning. I felt like our boys played well. Wet weather is a factor in both of these games, to be honest, up there.”
Due to injuries, Gian had to ask a couple younger players to step into larger roles in the game. Most notably, freshman Finn Renner played keeper for the Pirates with the injury to Ethan Bracken.
The Pirates fell behind 1-0 early, but the combination play of Davis and King netted a goal and it was tied 1-1. Right before half, though, the Titans found the back of the net on a free kick and made it 2-1.
When the second half started, the Titans started to score. With time winding down, the Titans held a 6-1 lead after scoring four goals in the second half, but the Pirates continued to fight, Gian noted.
King found the back of the net for the second time in the game and the score was 6-2 as the final whistle blew.
“[If] we played full strength, I think that would put us on par with that Crested Butte team,” said Gian. “I know the score really doesn’t show that, but, yeah. It was disappointing, but a good effort from the boys.”
After the loss the Pirates had a couple days to rest, but they were back on the road on Tuesday, Oct. 13, for a match with the Alamosa Mean Moose.
The Pirates had defeated the Mean Moose 4-1 earlier this season, but on Tuesday they fell 3-2.
Going into the game, the Mean Moose held a 1-8 record, but Gian emphasized that a record like that means nothing when it comes to league games.
“[We] were hoping to go out and dictate early, kind of put them on their heels, get a good lead early so that we’re not letting them live in the game,” Gian said. “Really, they have nothing to lose. And it’s a division rival or a league rival. And we knew it would be tough.”
Halfway through the first half, Davis put the Pirates up 1-0, and Gian explained he felt like his team was starting to control the game.
But, just before the end of the first half, the Mean Moose scored from 40 yards out to tie the game.
The second half started and the game turned into a dogfight, emphasized Gian. Still, the Pirates found a way to retake the lead. Castillo drew a penalty kick and buried it in the back of the net for the 2-1 lead.
With 10 minutes left, Renner was injured on a breakaway and Erick Alvarez had to come in off the bench to serve as keeper.
Shortly after, Alamosa tied it up, putting away the rebound from a free kick.
“At that point there’s 10 minutes left,” said Gian. “It’s a free-for-all, just back and forth. We’re trying to push. We need to win. They’ve got nothing to lose. So we’re pushing back and forth. It’s getting crazy hectic.”
The Pirates thought they had the winning goal, but it was called back for offsides and Alamosa capitalized on an opportunity with a minute left to make it 3-2, and that’s the way the game ended.
“The result’s disappointing,” Gian said. “But, there’s going to be days like that. We feel like we probably should win that game, but Alamosa came out and fought, and that’s why you play these games, for a battle.”
Now, the Pirates have one game remaining on their schedule. The boys will travel to Fruita to take on the Fruita Monument Wildcats on Friday, Oct. 16. The Wildcats are 5-6-1 and ranked 44th in 4A.
The Wildcats took the teams’ most recent matchup last year 2-0, but the Pirates won 3-2 two seasons ago.
“At this point, we’re going to try to go have a little fun and see what our response is,” Gian said. “And at the end of the day, just make sure we’re leaving that game proud of who we are and what we bring.”
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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