Summit soccer loses another tough one in the snow, 2-0 to Rifle

BRECKENRIDGE — Another snowy day on the Tiger Stadium turf, another tough loss for the Summit High School varsity boys soccer team.

The Summit Tigers (5-8-1) kept it close with a talented Rifle Bears squad (9-5) for more than 70 minutes before a wonder strike by one of Rifle’s best players provided the go-ahead goal in the Bear’s 2-0 win Wednesday afternoon.

With 9:40 left in the game, Rifle senior forward Mayro Hernandez fired a shot from outside of Summit’s box, sending the deep effort off the bottom of the Tigers crossbar and over goalkeeper Jesus “Chi Chi” Alvaredo’s gloves for a 1-0 lead.

“It was definitely a fantastic goal,” Summit head coach Tommy Gogolen said. “He had a dip on it, and really there was no opportunity for our goalkeeper to make a save on it. I would definitely put it up there as probably one of the best goals of the season.”

The tally was a deflating one for the Tigers as Wednesday’s snowstorm rolled in heavier, and snow stuck to the turf.

Gogolen felt his team improved its sense of urgency after a slow start in the first half.

At the beginning of the second, Alvaredo stepped up and made three saves against Rifle’s attack. All around him, Summit High athletics personnel and volunteers shoveled the side and end lines to help the players discern the field’s dimensions.

Then, with 31 minutes left in the game, Summit center forward Maschelle Kepple had a shot opportunity of his blocked by a Rifle defender near the top of the Bears 18-yard box. A couple minutes later, Rifle nearly finished a cross at Alvaredo’s back post, but in the slippery conditions, the pass slid through, the score remaining 0-0.

With 21 minutes left in the game Summit might have had its best scoring chance of the day when freshman Fabien Cuevas made a run off the left side of the field to the near post on the other side of the field. Cuevas nearly got his head to the ball, but Rifle’s keeper was able to maintain control of possession.

Then with just under 15 minutes remaining in regulation, Rifle had a shot get past Alvaredo, but it trickled wide left of the far post. A few moments after that, Alvaredo bottled up a deep Rifle shot from outside the box.

Following the Bears’ first goal, Rifle added on a second goal with under two minutes remaining when Andres Guerrero poked in a rebound after a Alvaredo save.

Gogolen thought Alvaredo played well stepping in for injured senior Chris Orozco, who likely won’t play at 11 a.m. Saturday at Rifle in Summit’s final game of the regular season due to a lower leg injury suffered in Summit’s 5-4 double-overtime loss to Steamboat on Tuesday.

“He made a lot of good saves today throughout the game,” Gogolen said. “It was unfortunate Chris was out, but Chi Chi did a fantastic job. But my heart is heavy for the boys because I feel like they responded in the second half, and it just didn’t go our way the past two nights. It’s unfortunate, but hopefully we can learn and build.”

With the loss, Summit’s playoff hopes take a huge hit. Entering Wednesday, the team had dropped to 33rd in the rankings for the state playoffs. The top 32 teams qualify.

In order for Summit to redeem themselves with a win at Rifle in the final game of the season Saturday, Gogolen feels the team needs to come out with a better sense of urgency from the opening whistle.

“It’s a team effort,” Gogolen said. “You can’t rely on one guy to score goals. I think our midfield can do a little better job of creating opportunities for themselves and others. We just didn’t click tonight.”

via:: Summit Daily