Battle Mountain boys soccer survives epic state quarterfinal shootout
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
What. A. Game.
While summarizing Monday night’s 4A state soccer quarterfinal required three sentences, Battle Mountain and Regis Groff needed two halves, two overtimes and a 12-penalty kick shootout to decide which team would advance to Wednesday’s boys semifinals. The 2 1/2 hour epic had everything: dramatic momentum swings, lead changes, a feisty foe and a worthy winner.
“We knew Regis would be a great team,” Battle Mountain goalie Ezequiel Alvarez said after blocking Gianmarco Carazas’ penalty kick and sending the defending state champions to their fourth-straight state semifinal game. Alvarez’s prognostication was accurate. The Fusion came out with fire. They were crisper, faster 鈥� hungrier.
“Just sitting in that bus for that long, we had some pent up energy. We were fighting for everything. We won every ball,” said sophomore Berk Ozekin, who opened the scoring in the 21st minute off a dish from Salvador Lira. The Fusion’s speedy midfield defense pinched passing lanes and prevented Battle Mountain’s prolific offense from working the perimeter. Ozekin said that was the game plan all along.
“We tried to contain the midfield 鈥� just trying to squeeze them,” he said.
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“They want to keep it low scoring, take us to overtime,” said Battle Mountain senior Charlie Strauch. “Once they scored one, they just wanted to sit and not give us any chances.”
The strategy effectively bottled up Husky star Jakob Methvin 鈥� who came into the game with 16 goals on the season. With 15 minutes to go, Methvin finally escaped for a one-on-one break, but Erick Quezada-Vazquez continually crossed him over until eventually the junior ran out of real estate. At one point, Methvin blasted a ball out of frustration over the fence into the dog park across the street.
“I was just kind of worried about the win and I think I kind of took it too far onto myself instead of playing within my team,” Methvin said. “I just went out and was very aggressive but I think I should have played the ball around a little more.”
To be fair, Regis Groth allowed just 10 goals the whole season. After falling to Northfield in last year’s state semifinals, the senior-heavy squad was pining for a breakthrough.
“We knew it would be difficult to score,” Battle Mountain head coach Dave Cope said.
With 3:23 remaining, it looked like the Huskies were going to do just that. Danny Sanchez lofted a long ball to Methvin, who cut back inside. His shot from the wing deflected off goalie Ever Zubia 鈥� who’d vacated the net to make the save 鈥� right to a waiting Strauch on the opposite side of the box. The senior calmly gathered himself, but Quezada-Vazquez barrelled in and blocked it with his chest. An aura of upset magic floated over the field.
But just as a deflating exhale wafted from the Battle Mountain fan section 鈥� rising in numbers against the dropping temperatures as students hustled out of the gym after the Huskies’ game 1 regional volleyball tournament win inside 鈥� the team’s playoff spark plug showed up.
With 1:44 to go in the half, Grey Glowacki and Emilio Paulon played a beautiful two-man game, with Paulon sticking the equalizer into the back of the net. It was the third-straight playoff game goal for Paulon, who is originally from Mexico City and arrived at Battle Mountain this fall.
“I wanted a spot on the team and I’ve worked for it,” the senior said. “This environment, the people, everything. … I love it.”
Paulon wasn’t done, either. Five minutes into the second, he rocketed down the far sideline to save a seemingly surefire out-of-bounds ball and centered it to Glowacki, who was tackled from behind in the box. Initially, Carlos Gardea stood ready to take the penalty kick and shouldered the mounting pressure as a Regis Groff injury was tended to. Then, at the last second, Cope called an audible.
“We switched it to Emilio because he wasn’t expecting it, and that’s almost better,” Cope said. “Just step up and take it.”
Paulon punched it into the right corner for the 2-1 lead.
“You want to finish the game鈥et another one,” he said of his mindset after. “You can never get enough.”
Ozekin must have been listening in. Three minutes after all seemed right with the world in Edwards, the lanky forward followed an over-the-shoulder bomb down the middle of the field. Alvarez came out to meet the breakaway, but Ozekin took a one-hop header over the outstretched goalie to tie things up again.
“I saw him, I was ready (and) I knew exactly what I was going to do,” Ozekin said. “I waited for the keeper to come out and just hopped on it. … It was an amazing moment. That was the greatest feeling I’ve ever felt.”
As the instant classic unfolded over the next 60 minutes, Cope preached patience and possessions.
“I thought the boys showed a tremendous amount of poise when we lost the lead a second time 鈥� to not panic,” he said. “I thought we played really well during the overtimes and deserved a goal and didn’t get it. So it had to be Zeke’s moment.”
After two 15-minute overtimes, the winner was undecided.
After each team sent its first five athletes out for penalty kicks, it was still undecided.
“We just have to make ours, because Zeke’s going to save one,” Cope said he told the team in the huddle, recalling a similar moment 12 years ago in Evergreen. His 2012 state championship team won via penalty kicks in both the quarterfinals and the finals.
“We’ve been here before,” Cope said. “Even if it’s different players, it’s the program, the vibe, the feeling.”
Jonathan Espinoza felt the vibes as he stepped to the plate and delivered the sixth-straight PK goal for the Huskies. Then Alvarez stuffed Carazas on the ensuing try to end the drama once and for all.
“Our focus is win the game. Not how, not when,” said Alvarez, who has had a long road back from a snowboarding injury in January and subsequent ACL surgery in March.
“I’ve learned to stay resilient and focused,” the senior said. “This is what I’ve been working for all the past seven months. So it’s great that it finally paid off with a huge win.”
When asked what was going through his mind amidst the jubilant celebration, defender Danny Sanchez replied, “All I’m thinking about is Air Academy on Wednesday.”
The Huskies are leaning on experience going into their 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Kadets, who are 14-1-2.
“We know they’re a good team; a semifinal team is never going to be easy,” Sanchez said. “I believe in myself and our guys. … If we stick together, we’re going to win.”
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Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Jakob Methvin is the leading scorer for Battle Mountain. The junior was held scoreless during regulation but knocked in a penalty kick score after double-overtime.
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
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Rex Keep/Courtesy photo
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