Prep notebook: Battle Mountain falls to Denver East 4-1
Vail Christian girls soccer continues its winning ways with third-straight win
Rex Keep/Courtesy photo
For over 50 minutes on Thursday, Battle Mountain was every bit as good as an undefeated 5A school. Even better, maybe.
The Huskies took the lead on a penalty kick goal early in the second-half of their home matchup with No. 12 Denver East, but the Angels broke through in a big way late, pouring in four second-half goals en route to a 4-1 victory.
“We played our game and had a great game plan the girls implemented in the first half and the first 20 minutes of the second half,” said head coach Pete Petrovski.
“Kept it in the midfield, marked up well on their top scorer, didn’t let her get going. And then as I made some substitutions, maybe we weren’t quite as organized as we needed to be, allowing her some time and space to get open.”
Battle Mountain’s center back Campbell Horton played a critical role in containing Denver East forward Jamuna Williams — who came into the game averaging 1.0 goals per contest.
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“She was able to pick everything up as they were moving through and if we had a miss in the back she was there to help clean it up,” Petrovski said of Horton. “And she made sure whatever shots they had weren’t clean — that they were under pressure.”
Thea Armistead rolled a penalty kick inside the left post to put the Huskies into the lead a little over 10 minutes into the second half. The Angels took advantage of some miscommunication in the Battle Mountain back two minutes later to tie things up.
“And you know, they’re an athletic team,” Petrovski said. “They did some things we had a hard time combatting and put in three more goals after that.”
Williams finally broke loose, notching two second-half goals to lead the Angels, who improved to 8-0-2. Cate Condon and Ashlyne Barringer also scored for Denver East.
Even with the 4-1 final, Petrovski was proud of the way his goalie, Elle Glendining performed.
“She made some critical saves for us before that onslaught in the last 12 minutes,” he said. “She played extremely well.”
Currently sitting fourth in the 4A Western Slope standings, the Huskies’ (5-6 overall and 4-4 in league play) only shot at the 32-team state tournament is via the Selection & Seeding Index. No. 42 Battle Mountain travels to No. 33 Grand Junction on Thursday.
“Getting a win against a team like that would be huge for us,” Petrovski said. “They’re solid. They’re going to be a tough matchup.”
The Huskies host No. 31 Eagle Valley for senior night on April 30 before traveling to No. 27 Steamboat Springs on May 2 and closing the season in Edwards against No. 8 The Classical Academy.
“We need to get wins in at least three of the last four,” Petrovski said before commenting on the elevated nature of the I-70 rival game on the final day of the month.
“They’re a well-coached team,” he said. “So, it’s going to be a good game out on the pitch.”
Other prep notes
- The Vail Christian girls soccer team continued its winning ways, downing Moffat County 7-0 on April 13 and Lake County 4-1 on April 15. The Saints have won three games in a row since taking down Colorado Rocky Mountain School 3-2 for the first win of the season last week. Vail Christian hosts Loveland Classical (8-1) on Friday at 3 p.m. in Edwards.
- Vail Mountain School boys lacrosse lost Tuesday’s league matchup against Steamboat Springs 9-6. The game was moved to Eagle Valley High School because of weather. The Sailors (10-2 overall, 8-1 league) now sit atop the 4A Western Slope League standings, while the Gore Rangers (8-3 overall, 7-3 league) are in third. VMS returns to action against Aspen on April 30.
- Vail Mountain School girls soccer lost to Kent Denver, the No. 2-ranked team in 3A, 4-0 on Monday. The Gore Rangers (4-2-2) play at Glenwood Springs on Friday.
