BHS, AHS soccer beat league rivals
Rallying from a 1-0 deficit at halftime, the Basalt High boys soccer team scored three goals in the second half to beat league rival Eagle Valley 3-1 on Saturday at the BHS field.
Senior Hugo Araujo scored two goals for the Longhorns and senior A.J. Hobbs twined one. Sophomore Jamie Wirkler got the win in goal.
With the win, Basalt improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in Class 3A Western Slope League play.
“We just weren’t finishing in the first half and we certainly had a lot of chances,” said Erik Streff, the BHS coach. “In the second half we just managed to put a few away.”
Basalt lost its Sept. 2 opener 3-0 against nonleague opponent Holy Family, then rebounded last Thursday with a 6-1 win over Roaring Fork in its league opener.
“Things are now coming together,” said Streff. “We started out kind of slow against Holy Family, but the last two games we’ve gained experience playing and working together as a team.
“And because we only have four returning starters, we’ve been working to get people settled into the right spots and getting them all to work together, and I think things are starting to come around.”
On Thursday, Basalt travels to face rival Aspen at the AHS field. Kickoff is at 4 p.m.
Aspen, which is also 2-0 in league play, has not beaten defending league champion Basalt in two years. Streff said Basalt is 3-0-1 against Aspen over the last two seasons.
“But Aspen is always a tough game,” Streff said, “no matter what the records are, home or away.”
On Saturday at 11 a.m., Basalt hosts Denver’s Faith Christian, the two-time defending Class 3A state champions.
“Any games that any of the teams from our league can get against Metro League [Denver] and the Tri-Peaks League [Colorado Springs] is definitely well worth it, in terms of both exposure and experience,” Streff said. “We’re kind of on the outskirts of Colorado soccer here and getting games like that helps everybody out in terms of putting us on the map.”
Aspen 3, Vail Mountain 1
Freshman Stephen Buzbee scored two goals and junior Gabriel Grisolia scored one as the Aspen High boys soccer team topped league rival Vail Mountain 3-1 on Saturday at the AHS field.
Aspen improved to 2-3 overall on the season and 2-0 in Class 3A Western Slope League play.
“It’s a good result against a strong team,” said Grant “Junior” Sutherland, who coaches Aspen with John Gillies.
“And we hadn’t beaten them in two years, so it was an especially good day for us.”
Buzbee’s first goal gave Aspen a 1-0 advantage at halftime, and Vail’s only score came with less than five minutes remaining, Sutherland said.
Sophomore Fred Barnard recorded the win in goal for Aspen.
“Our game is getting better as a team, but we’ve got a lot more work to do. We’re definitely not anywhere close to where we want to be, but they’re working hard and hopefully it’ll come together,” Sutherland said.
This week, Aspen has ample opportunity to see how they match up against top teams in the league and the state.
On Tuesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. at the AHS field, Aspen hosts Eagle Valley and Basalt, respectively, two of the top teams in the 3A Western Slope League. Then on Friday at 4 p.m., Aspen welcomes Faith Christian, currently ranked second in the state.
“We’ve got a tough week ahead of us and it’s a matter of taking it one game at a time,” said Sutherland.
Coal Ridge’s Ben Simons pitches no-hitter in baseball season opener
Ben Simons, the reigning Western Slope League Player of the Year, is setting the stage for another dominant season.