EDWARDS \u2014 \u201cThe Rat\u201d struck.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy coach on the Vail Valley Soccer Club always told me to stay on the goalie to be something he called \u2018The Rat,’\u201d said Huskies sophomore Bailey Murray. \u201cSo I have to stay on the goalie and annoy her. That\u2019s why I\u2019m \u2018The Rat.\u2019 When the ball came, I thought, \u2018Do what Steve says.\u2019 I just hit it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coach in question is Steve Lepper, and, Coach, the student learned well. Murray was very annoying.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s good at that,\u201d Huskies goalie Wilder Isom said, with the obligatory punchline.<\/p>\n
After that mad scramble off a corner kick from Rayna Kenney in the 42nd minute led to Murray with the ball in the box, she shoved it home for the only score in a 1-0 Battle Mountain win over Evergreen on Tuesday in Edwards.<\/p>\n
And that, folks, could be a very big win for the Huskies. Evergreen is a postseason regular, ranked No. 3 in the chsaanow.com poll in 4A and usually wins a lot of games, which theoretically should help the Huskies\u2019 rating-percentage index as the season progresses.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Perhaps most comforting is that Battle Mountain played much better than it did on Saturday during a 2-0 win over Steamboat Springs. While wins over the Sailors are always good, Battle Mountain, confined by the recent snow to the gym, linked passes nicely and possessed well against a quality opponent.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the Huskies played better in the first half but scored early in the second 40 minutes. Soccer can be a silly game that way.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Huskies (3-0) took a punch. Evergreen is a physical team and 4A Slope squads generally don\u2019t see that style of play until the postseason, when they\u2019re caught off guard by it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought the Evergreen team competed and stepped up in the second half,\u201d Huskies coach David Cope said. \u201cThey had to. It was great to see our players react to that. How do you react to a physical challenge?\u201d<\/p>\n
For a team with postseason ambitions, that\u2019s a good experience in March.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Battle Mountain has a goalkeeper. Isom was impressive on Tuesday night, particularly when the visiting Cougars stepped it up in the second half.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love having the solid back four Claire (Krueger), Izzy (McMurrain), Addie (Smith) and Maggie (Skidmore),\u201d Isom said. \u201cBut really when I\u2019m in goal I can see the whole field. I know when they\u2019re coming. I\u2019ve had a lot of experience with the angles. I think just positioning, I have that down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Normally, when the phrase \u201cfirst five\u201d is spoken by Cope, it refers to the first five and last five minutes of a half, good times to pounce. In fairness, the Huskies did score in the first five of the second half.<\/p>\n
But this is another use of first five as in games. During the previous first five games of the season the last two springs, the Huskies were 1-8-1, slow starts which make for a tough road to the postseason. Granted Battle Mountain started the last two seasons against powerhouses like Wheat Ridge and D\u2019Evelyn, which doesn\u2019t help a team\u2019s record.<\/p>\n
In that context, consider Battle Mountain to be quite happy with a 3-0 start, the third win coming on coach Cope\u2019s father\u2019s birthday on Tuesday. Many happy returns to Alan Cope, who enjoyed the game from the press box with his better half, Hazel.<\/p>\n
Battle Mountain returns to league play with a home game against Rifle at 6 p.m. If you have an old schedule, this former road fixture is now in Edwards with the Huskies now paying the Bears a visit on April 27.<\/p>\n