After being embarrassed by Basalt 9-2 in their first meeting of the year, the Aspen boys soccer team thought of this go around as a game of redemption. The soccer salvation, however, quickly turned into a blown opportunity as the Skiers surrendered their one-point lead and gave up two unanswered goals late in the second half, falling at home to Basalt, 2-1.
"Its always a big win when we play Aspen," said Basalt coach John McDermott. "Our team has a lot of heart and it doesn't get down. The goals will come, you just have to have the patience."
The game opened on a somber note as Aspen defender Ryan Dunn collided with Basalt's Craig Riggins' groin in the fifth minute and lay motionless on the field turf for more than 25 minutes. Dunn was eventually taken off in an ambulance for a concussion, according to the school's trainer.
The Skiers used the injury as motivation, and the hard hitting continued.
Aspen's Jesus Meza broke the scoreless tie in the 12th minute taking a Dillon Travers cross and putting it past Longhorns' goalkeeper Scott Riggins.
Three minutes later, Aspen found the back of the net again. Skiers senior forward Kyle Lusk stayed strong as he collided with Riggins and was able to put the ball past him for what appeared to be a 2-0 lead. But the referees determined the Basalt goalkeeper had possession and that the crash shook the ball loose, so they nullified the call.
"It's a game we never deserved to lose," said Aspen coach Junior Sutherland. "It was tough with a goal called back, a lot of shots hit the posts - we just didn't get the breaks. I think they walked away from here with a lucky win tonight."
With a solid defense, led by senior defender Matt "The Jigsaw" Goldstein, Aspen was able to control the tempo of the first half and keep the explosive Basalt offense at bay.
But Basalt coach John McDermott must of made one hell of a halftime speech because, after playing defense for the majority of the first half, the Longhorns came out firing after the break.
Twenty-eight minutes into the second half, Basalt forward Craig Riggins tied the game at one apiece. Three minutes later, teammate Marshall Cleveland added what would be the game-winning goal.
"The mistakes we made, they took advantage of them and we couldn't do anything about it," said Meza. "We wanted to do this for Ryan Dunn but things just didn't go our way."
Feeling the pressure, the Aspen offense responded. But it was not enough as all of the Skiers second-half shots on goal sailed wide, high or hit the crossbar or posts.
Aspen goalkeeper Alex Owen recorded five saves on the night while Basalt goalie Riggins made three.
With the win, Basalt remains undefeated in league play with a record of 3-0-2, and 3-3-2 overall. The loss drops Aspen to 4-3-1 in league play and 6-4-1 overall.
"We're not the same team they faced last time," said Meza who has never notched a win over Basalt in his prep career. "It sucks not to beat them at least once. I'm just disappointed but we need to move forward."
Aspen looks to get back on track when it hosts Colorado Rocky Mountain School on Oct. 8, while Basalt looks to continue its winning ways when they travel to Roaring Fork on Oct. 7.
KAI@ASPENDAILYNEWS.COM
