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Soccer wins at Eagle Valley, sets sights on Battle Mountain rivalry

Janice Kurbjun
summit daily news

With a 2-0 win over Eagle Valley putting the Summit High boys’ soccer team at an 8-3 season record (7-1 in 4A Slope), the Tigers turn again to Battle Mountain on Monday.

“It was a good win for the boys. It was a physical game,” head coach Tommy Gogolen said. “I’m really proud of the boys that, one, they persevered and two, were very well disciplined.”

According to the coach, Eagle Valley pulled a handful of cards, including one red card, during the game. They filled the rest with lots of pushing and shoving.



“Our guys did a great just just walking away. … They didn’t respond to any of that stuff. They just played good, hard soccer,” Gogolen said, adding that the Tigers had no cards throughout the game.

Senior midfielder Cesar Serrano scored off a free kick in the first half. In the second half, junior midfielder Max Ortiz played a few minutes and created a scoring opportunity, on which senior forward Evan Feldman capitalized.



With senior sweeper Connor Hebert out for a leg injury, Serrano spent time in the back field. Defender Daniel McFadden joined him for some more consistent play from the senior who’s new to the team, Gogolen said.

Ortiz played a short stint in the game because he is resting an ankle.

“He looked great during the game. just being careful so he’s 100 percent for the last two weeks,” Gogolen said.

With just four games left – all league games – Gogolen wants all four to be wins, but more important is a good seed heading into the playoffs.

“There’s a big difference between being ranked 25th and 15th,” he said.

On Monday, the Battle Mountain Huskies (11-0 overall, 9-0 in 4A Slope) come to Tiger Stadium this time around, and both teams are looking forward to it.

“The boys are excited for the challenge,” Gogolen said. “I know Battle Mountain’s excited. … They’re looking forward to a good, hard game.”

Battle Mountain took down Steamboat Springs, 4-0, on Thursday, and are also now looking at Monday’s game at Farmers Korner. On Sept. 25 in Edwards, the Tigers and Huskies battled it out in a monsoon.

“I think it’s going to be pretty tough,” Battle Mountain senior Gunnar Wilson said to the Vail Daily. “It was pretty scary here. It was closer than a 3-1 game. We can’t overlook it at all. It can give us the league.”

The Tigers’ plan to change up their game to accommodate some of the outstanding athletes on the Battle Mountain team, including senior star Joe LyBarger. The Tigers go into the match unranked, hoping to take down the No. 2-ranked team in the state.

“We’re definitely the underdog, but we’re looking forward to the challenge for sure,” Gogolen said.

The game starts at 6 p.m. Monday at Tiger Stadium.


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