Basalt boys soccer holds off Vail, in position for outright league title
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Three days after knocking off No. 3 Roaring Fork, Basalt High School boys soccer coach Brent Hayes simply wanted his team to avoid a letdown against visiting Vail Mountain on Friday.
While it wasn’t always pretty, the Longhorns did enough to hold on for a 2-1 win over the 9th-ranked Gore Rangers in Basalt. The game had originally been scheduled for Thursday but was pushed back a day because of weather.
“Having such a huge win, you see that quite a bit,” Hayes said of possible letdowns. “We got the ‘W’, which was awesome. We just didn’t play up to our capabilities.”
Basalt trailed 1-0 against Vail Mountain, and it took a goal from Gaby Bonilla in the final minutes of the first half to make it 1-1 at the midway point. The Longhorns were awarded a free kick about eight minutes into the second half when the VMS goalie grabbed the ball off a direct pass, which isn’t allowed, and Aaron Lopez made the most if it, his goal making it 2-1 in favor of Basalt.
The Rangers had plenty of chances late in the contest, including a shot that bounced off the left post only a second before the referees blew the final whistle to end the game.
“They had us on the ropes for that last 20,” Hayes said. “It’s what I talked about the other night with us being afraid of this game.”
Unranked Basalt improved to 7-7 overall with the win and 5-1 in 3A Western Slope League play. They are tied atop the WSL with Coal Ridge and Roaring Fork with a league loss each, although the Longhorns hold the tiebreaker against both schools.
BHS has only one regular-season game remaining, a trip to Delta late next week with the outright league title on the line.
Airline Climbing Trail only steps away from fall completion at Sky Mountain Park
Two Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteer projects are scheduled to assist with finish work, rock armoring and seeding of disturbed areas, according Ted O’Brien, manager of Pitkin County Open Space and Trails Resource and Trails. The events will be led in collaboration with Open Space and Trails and the Roaring Fork Mountain Biking Association.
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