2A boys soccer: Crested Butte captures third title in last four seasons

COLORADO SPRINGS – The term dynasty isn’t specifically defined, but the Crested Butte boys soccer team certainly feels like one.

With a 2-0 victory over the Lotus School for Excellence in the class 2A boys soccer championships Saturday morning at Weidner Field, the Titans secured their third title in the last four seasons, and the second championship in the 2021 calendar year.

“This one was just the like the first one all over again,” Head Coach Than Acuff said. “It’s the same nerves, the same excitement, the same expectations. Even though we got here last season and had the same result, there’s no guarantees. We knew we had a big opponent in Lotus, they are a well-coached and well-run program. They had us on the ropes, we just finished it off like we’ve been doing all season.”

Like they’ve been doing all season, where they finished with just one loss and outscored their opposition by a stunning 84-7 margin.

However, in the playoff, Crested Butte got everyone’s best shot as the top seed. After an 8-0 round one win, they needed overtime to defeat Telluride, 1-0, in the quarterfinals, and then had a last minute comeback over rival Ridgway in the semifinals.

In the finals match, Crested Butte once again found itself without a goal going late into the second half. After putting the pressure on all game, they finally broke through on a goal from senior Davis McNeill with about 15 minutes to play. Then, with the momentum, another goal was netted just two minutes later from junior Jacob Bernholtz, his team-leading 27th of the season.

“It felt amazing,” McNeill exclaimed about the game winning goal. “Me and my team have worked so hard all year, and just to bring it home for my boys is the best feeling ever.”

Not to be outdone, on the defensive end senior goalie Cedar Ressenden and his teammates tallied the 13th shutout on the season for the Titans.

“My back line and the middies all worked their butts off,” Ressenden said. “They just worked so hard in every practice, in every game. I know all of those guys have battled through some sort of injury where they could of sat out, but they didn’t. All of these guys amaze me.”

For Lotus, this game caps off a 14-4 season, resulting in the first championship game appearance in program history.

After the match, coach Acuff dedicated the win to his wife and child, as well as a couple of people who meant the world to the team and the Crested Butte community.

Sarah Smith, a teacher at the school, and Karyn Adelman, the mother of one of the players, both passed away recently from cancer. The win today and the championship title was in their honor.

“They were in our hearts and minds today” Acuff said.