Liz Copan / ecopan@summitdaily.com
BRECKENRIDGE – Another Summit-Glenwood Springs varsity boys soccer matchup, another instant classic for the Tigers and Demons.
On Tuesday evening on Senior Night on the road in Glenwood, Summit (4-6-1) scraped back from an early 1-0 hole to find a late first half equalizer. The Tigers then held on over the ensuing 50 minutes of back-and-forth soccer before, after two overtime sessions, the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Thus far this season against the No. 15 Demons, Summit has earned a statement victory (1-0 on Oct. 3 at Tiger Stadium) and a gutty draw. On Tuesday, Gogolen said Summit rose to the occasion in a hostile playing environment on Glenwood’s constrained grass field confines. Energized by the challenge, Summit played improved soccer after an underwhelming 4-2 loss on Saturday at Palisade.
Looking to avenge the Oct. 3 loss to Summit – Glenwood’s lone loss through 13 games this season – the Demons took the lead 15 minute into the game on a redirected header off of a set piece.
With their backs up against the wall, Summit head coach Tommy Gogolen was eager to see how is Tigers would respond. If they did so poorly, perhaps he’d have to pivot to resting players ahead of Thursday’s home game versus Eagle Valley. He’s glad it never came to that, as Summit found an offensive attack of their own, eventually equalizing in the 38th minute.
With two minutes to go before intermission, Summit center forward Maschelle Kepple corralled possession with his back to Glenwood’s net. As two defenders converged on him, he flipped a through-ball over his head to a cutting Owen Gallo, as the freshman one-timed the ball past the Demons keeper after a run past Glenwood’s back line defenders.
“It was just a fantastic goal,” Gogolen said, “real good composure. He showed a lot of maturity from a freshman.”
Knotted up at the half, the coach told his players they’d be going full-throttle for the win.
“Our gameplan the first time we played them and beat them was to be a little bit defensive minded,” Gogolen added. “I told them at halftime ‘this game is for the taking, we are not going to sit back, we are going to press.’”
Opportunities abounded for each side in the second half, as Summit senior goalkeeper Chris Orozco rose to the occasion once again to register 17 total saves versus Glenwood. For Summit, Kepple had an attempt on goal ricochet off the post early in the second half.
The Tigers also received contributions from youngsters stepping up in roles, including midfielder freshman Eli Ash. Recently called up from junior varsity, Ash played a poised midfield role in the final minutes of regulation and overtime, stepping in for the injured Andrew Martin. Ash also helped fill in for veteran leader Ivan Guitierrez, who the Tigers lost from the midfield late in regulation due to injury.
With Eagle Valley (5-8) on deck at Tiger Stadium Thursday (6 p.m.), the Tigers will look to avenge a 3-2 road overtime loss from Oct. 1. If they do, Gogolen’s emphasis on a “one game at a time” mentality this year will help to keep Summit on the right side of the state playoff bubble.
With three games remaining in the regular season before the state playoffs are set to begin Oct. 30, the Tigers at No. 30 in the state high school soccer RPI are on the right side of the bubble, as 32 teams make the tournament. Summit last qualified for the playoffs in 2014.