Cowboys soccer team ties Delta, 1-1

The Gunnison High School boys soccer team closed out their regular season with home games against future playoff teams Delta and Roaring Fork.

The Cowboys hosted the Delta Panthers on Saturday, Oct. 17, and the Roaring Fork Rams on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The Panthers are ranked 23rd in the 3A while the Rams are ranked third. 

Saturday’s match between the Cowboys and Panthers ended in a 1-1 tie. Each team scored a goal in the first half and was held scoreless in the second half.

“We just went out to play our game,” said head coach Susan Powers. “And we had amazing possession. I would say we possessed probably 70% of the game, if I had to guess. Had tons of opportunities, played a really strong defensive game, and just really struggled to put the ball in the net.”

Charlie Wolfenbarger scored the Cowboys’ lone goal and Roy Talbert assisted on it. 

Powers emphasized that while the team is happy with the tie, the game could have very well easily been a win for the Cowboys.

“It was probably the best I've seen their passing and working together as a team all year,” said Powers. “So that was a pretty successful day.”

The Cowboys did lose two starting defenders to season-ending injuries in the game though. David Coop, starting center back, broke his collarbone and Dylan Boscaro broke a bone in his foot.

The Cowboys were back in action, hosting the Roaring Fork Rams on Tuesday night. Powers planned to “park the bus” against the Rams. Essentially the game plan was to execute a low defensive block and hopefully score on a counter-attack.

“(in the) first half, I would say we executed it perfectly,” said Powers. “We walked into halftime. It was still 0-0. Defensively, we played amazingly.”

Unfortunately, injuries struck again. The Cowboys striker and leading goal scorer, Talbert, had to leave the game in the first half after sustaining a lower leg injury; Wolfenbarger suffered a concussion in the first half and Jesus Diaz left the game with an injured ankle in the second half.

“We just didn't have the depth to maintain, I think, that level of intensity that's needed to play a low block really well,” said Powers after the injuries. “And so then Roaring Fork got their first goal with 13 minutes left and then just cracked it open that last part of the game.”

The Rams ended up defeating the Cowboys 3-0 in their final home regular season game of the year.

Now that the regular season is complete, the Cowboys hold a 7-5-3 record and the 25th spot in the 3A rankings. The top 32 ranked teams will make the 3A state playoffs, which means that the Cowboys are safely a part of the postseason. The official bracket will be released on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Powers emphasized that she is very happy with the way the team is playing right now; she just is hopeful that the team can get healthy ahead of their potential first playoff game on Oct. 28th. 

“Health and fitness is definitely our top priority right now because (as) a small program, every person is so, so important to the good of the whole and to the team aspect of it,” said Powers. “And so that's really what we're going to focus on.”