Buzbee scores four in AHS soccer openers

Fielding a team that includes six starting sophomores, a freshman and a senior, the Aspen High boys soccer team opened its season with two wins and a loss at the Montrose Tournament.The young AHS team beat Telluride 6-0 and league-rival Roaring Fork 3-1. Aspen’s loss came against 2003 state semifinalists Salida, 4-0.For Aspen coach Junior Sutherland, the loss proved more instructional than the two victories.”We played Salida first and it was our best game of the lot,” he said. “We just let up some silly goals. They’re a good team, but I’d like to play them later in the season. For a young team like us against an experienced group like that, we did very well. We were sticking with ’em.”Aspen trailed Salida 2-nil at halftime.The game also put Aspen on alert for its next opponents, Roaring Fork and Telluride.”We got in some excellent passing against Telluride, a team that’s been up there at the state level,” said Sutherland. “Against Roaring Fork, we looked pretty comfortable.”Roaring Fork dropped three games in Montrose, losing to Thunder Ridge, Aspen and Sterling.Aspen’s sophomore striker Stephen Buzbee scored four goals on the weekend. Five other Skiers kicked in one goal apiece: sophomore Nicky Anastas, junior D.J. Furth, sophomores Matt Buttler and Ryder Fyrwald, and Harvey, a new transfer student from Miami whose last name momentarily escaped Sutherland. (“We call him Vice,” he chuckled.)Sophomore Andy Connaroe and junior Fred Bernard split time in goal for Aspen.”We’re a real young team, but we didn’t look it necessarily,” Sutherland said. “And we’ve got Tyler Moore, who is starting for us as a freshman, who hardly looks like a freshman.”Aspen has the next two weeks off due to the AHS Experiential Education program. On Sept. 18, Aspen faces Grand Junction Central, and on Sept. 21 AHS hosts Basalt for its home opener.”We lose ’em for a while for Ex Ed, which kills me, and then we’ve got to get it back together,” said Sutherland. “Basalt’s gonna be good, for sure, but I think we’ll surprise a few people.”Basalt splits against Metro League opponentsThe Basalt Longhorns bounced back from a 4-1 loss to defending Class 3A state champion Faith Christian on Friday with a 1-0 shutout victory over Colorado Academy on Saturday.Basalt’s Cy Eaton scored the only goal of the game in the first half against CA, and Basalt goalie Jamie Wirkler kept the host Mustangs off the scoreboard with 13 saves.Starting with Tuesday’s league match against Paonia at home at 4 p.m., Basalt (1-1) has three home games on tap this week.