Despite a short lightning delay pushing back the start time of the match, the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers came out with energy against the Ridgway Demons on Tuesday.
Manuel Martinez broke away from the Ridgway defense in the first minute and nearly had a shot attempt in the box before losing control of the ball. And defensively, the Panthers pressured the Demons into mistakes to keep possession of the ball in the early going.
Chris Statton sent a pass ahead to Ian Yocum in the eighth minute for a Ridgway opportunity. But M-CHS freshman goalkeeper Tegan Whiteskunk came rushing out of the net and slid on the ball for a save.
Martinez broke away again in the 15th minute. And this time, he got a shot attempt, sending a liner at Ridgway keeper Johnathan Zaugg.
Although the ball was initially deflected, M-CHS sophomore Shawn Higgins followed the play and was in the perfect position to punch it in for the score to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
But Ridgway answered immediately, with Yocum scoring a goal to knot things up at 1.
In the 21st minute, the Panthers jumped back on top after Kolby Waltman sent a pass between defenders and ahead to Martinez.
Zaugg initially began to come out of the net to make a play, so he was on his heels when Martinez took the pass, and the M-CHS senior’s shot found the back of the net to send the Panthers to the break with a 2-1 lead.
The rain returned ten minutes into the second half, and it continued to pour down for nearly 20 minutes.
The weather affected both teams, with M-CHS head coach Sean Fitzgerald later saying that he thought it hurt his team’s communication.
“I think that we dominated the first half,” he explained. “But we came out flat in the second half and they just came back at us. And then when the rain hit, we weren’t talking, we were communicating, we weren’t winning the fifty-fifty balls – which we were doing so well in the first half – and the game swung.”
The Panthers avoided a scare in the 58th minute when Whiteskunk wound up out of position during a Ridgway attack. Luckily for the home team, freshman defender Justin Gray hopped in front the net and used his body to divert a shot away. He was credited with a save.
Whiteskunk played another solid game in the net for the Panthers, topping his 10-save performance from Saturday with 11 saves against Ridgway.
He also had great help from defenders like Gray, Trey Yarbrough and Parker Bell, who cleared Ridgway opportunities before they turned into shots on goal.
However, the Demons got by Whiteskunk and the Panthers defense twice more in the second half.
Robert Beserra connected with a shot across his body to tie the game at 2 in the 62nd minute. And then Yocum headed in a corner kick in the 70th minute to put the visitors up, and they would go on to win 3-2.
“I think we played well the first half,” said Fitzgerald. “And I think we played bits and pieces well in the second half. It’s just that you’ve got to put a whole 80-minute game together. You can’t have bits and pieces.”
The Panthers (1-4, 0-3 Southwest Soccer League) host Telluride (3-2-1, 2-1-1 SWSL) on Thursday at 5 p.m.
