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Basalt High School senior Stella Scott, right, goes on the attack in the girls soccer game against Vail Mountain on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
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Basalt High School juniors Taylor Glen, left, and Sasha Brucker eye a loose ball in the girls soccer game against Vail Mountain on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
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Basalt High School sophomore Delaney Card eyes an airborne ball in the girls soccer game against Vail Mountain on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
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Basalt High School freshman Lexi Lowe, left, battles for the ball in the girls soccer game against Vail Mountain on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
Austin Colbert/Aspen Times
Clinging to a one-goal advantage late into the second half, the game unraveled in a hurry for the Basalt High School girls soccer team Tuesday when it hosted Vail Mountain in its home opener, losing 3-2.
In what the Longhorns believed to have been a missed offsides call, VMS freshman Tegan Sharfstein was able to get one-on-one with BHS goalie Natalie Simecek and scored for the tie with about 11 minutes to play. About six minutes later, Sharfstein put in the game-winner.
“We had an unfortunate turn of events in terms of how the game was called. Obviously you can’t go off of the refs’ calls,” BHS coach Kate McBride said. “They are a much better team than they exemplified today. I don’t believe the score actually reflected the abilities of our team. I felt they got in their own way today.”
The first half was evenly played until Vail Mountain’s Gaby Gish, another freshman, scored in stoppage time to make it 1-0 VMS at the halftime break. The Longhorns came out with a lot more efficiency early in the second half, scoring twice in the first 10 minutes.
Sophomore Delaney Card got BHS on the scoreboard when her goal from about 20 yards out tied the game at a goal apiece roughly seven minutes into the half. Barely three minutes later and BHS freshman Lexi Lowe knocked in a short shot from the left side to make it 2-1 Longhorns with 30 minutes to play.
It wasn’t until Sharfstein broke away for her first goal nearly 20 minutes later that Basalt started to become a little unhinged.
“When that happened, we had a little bit of a communication breakdown and unfortunately didn’t play our way,” McBride said of Sharfstein’s first goal. “Vail did step up and we appreciated that. We appreciated the challenge. Now we’ve got our work cut out for us to bring cohesiveness back to the team.”
The win brought Vail Mountain’s record to 6-4 overall and snapped a three-game losing streak, two of those losses coming last week against Aspen. The Gore Rangers are 2-2 in 3A Western Slope League play.
Basalt fell to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in WSL play. The schedule doesn’t get any easier with No. 5 Aspen (5-2) scheduled to make a trip to Basalt for a 4 p.m. game Thursday, weather permitting. The Longhorns also host Middle Park on Saturday morning.
“I do have the utmost confidence in this team and that they can bring it back together,” McBride said. “The nice part about this team is every one of the them is committed and is everybody is very much an equal part of it.”
ROARING FORK GIRLS SOCCER BEATS COAL RIDGE IN WSL TILT
Hosting Coal Ridge on Tuesday afternoon in Carbondale for a 3A Western Slope League tilt, the Roaring Fork High School girls soccer team pulled out a 2-1 win over the Titans.
Coal Ridge jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first five minutes as senior Alyssa Wenzel capitalized on a misplay back to the Roaring Fork goalkeeper.
Just under 10 minutes later, Roaring Fork sophomore Letey Crownhart started the scoring for the Rams with an unassisted tally as the two teams went into the half tied at 1-1.
That score held up until four minutes remained in the game as Roaring Fork junior Emily Broadhurst scored the game-winner off a give-and-go with senior Lucia Penzel, giving the Rams an important win in league action.
Roaring Fork improves to 3-3 (1-1 3A WSL) on the season. Coal Ridge falls to 3-3-1 (1-1 3A WSL) on the season. The Rams host Delta on Friday afternoon, while the Titans host Palisade on Thursday.
— Josh Carney, Glenwood Springs Post Independent
ASPEN BOYS LACROSSE FALLS SHORT AT GJ
The Aspen High School boys lacrosse team had its two-game win streak snapped Tuesday with a 14-11 loss at Class 5A Grand Junction. The Tigers are now 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the combined 4A/5A Mountain league. Aspen fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in league play. The Skiers are slated to host Summit in non-league play Thursday, weather permitting.
ASPEN GIRLS TENNIS BEATS DELTA AT HOME
The Aspen High School girls tennis team took care of business on Tuesday, beating Delta 6-1 at Maroon Creek Club. The threesome of Mary Williams (No. 1, 6-0, 6-0), Macy Hopkinson (No. 2, 6-0, 6-0) and Karina Keller (No. 3, 6-1, 6-0) swept through the singles matches.
The Skiers went 3-1 in doubles play. At No. 1, Addy Walson and Sadie Bakyo won, 6-4, 6-2. At No. 2 doubles, Olivia Burkley and Stef Wojcik won 6-0, 3-6 (10-7). At No. 4 doubles, Rose Becker and MT Reid won 6-4, 6-1. The only loss came at No. 3 doubles, with Virginia Tassi and Sophie Wilcox falling in a close affair, 4-6, 6-4 (8-10).
Aspen will next host Vail Mountain at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Maroon Creek Club.
BASALT BASEBALL CAN’T KEEP UP WITH BATTLE MOUNTAIN
The Basalt High School baseball team traveled to Edwards on Tuesday, falling twice in a doubleheader with Class 4A Battle Mountain. The Huskies won the first game 20-7, scoring 19 runs in the first two innings, including 14 in the second. The Huskies then won the second game 20-5, scoring most of their runs late this time as BHS had taken an early advantage.
Battle Mountain improved to 6-2 overall. Basalt fell to 0-4. Weather permitting, the Longhorns are scheduled to host Rifle at 3 p.m. Thursday in their home opener before traveling to Cedaredge on Saturday.
Paonia baseball tops Roaring Fork, 8-7
Hosting Paonia on Tuesday afternoon in Carbondale, the Roaring Fork High School baseball team dropped a tough 8-7 decision to the Eagles in non-league action.
Roaring Fork jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings thanks to a two-run home run by senior Dawson Kuhl, and runs by junior Eli Nickamin, senior Layne Crisp and sophomore Frankie Harrington. Paonia battled back, scoring five runs in the top of the sixth inning, and one run in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead before retiring the Rams in the bottom of the frame for the road win.
Roaring Fork threatened in the seventh as freshman Mason Smith doubled with two outs, but a groundout a batter later ended the threat.
In the loss, the Rams recorded 11 hits as Kuhl had a home run and single, sophomore Graham Pietsch doubled and Crisp singled twice.
The loss drops Roaring Fork to 1-5 on the season. The Rams host the Delta Panthers on Thursday in a 3A WSL matchup.
— Josh Carney, Glenwood Springs Post Independent