ARVADA — The Anemoi — Greek wind gods — were with Steamboat Springs boys soccer team Wednesday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
With a strong constant north/northwest wind at the No. 21-seeded Sailors’ back during the first half, Steamboat Springs senior Will Beruskens used the wind to score the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over No. 12 Golden in the opening round of the Class 4A boys soccer state tournament.
“I just kind of hit it as hard as I could and hoped for the best,” Beruskens said of the free kick that scored the eventual game-winning goal. “The point wasn’t necessarily to score, but to get it on goal.”
Steamboat’s Sam Brown (27) works on Golden’s Joaquin Garfias on Wednesday night at NAAC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Beruskens took a free kick in the 15th minute of the first half near midfield. The shot road the wind and sailed just over the reach of Golden freshman goalie Brandon Shull. Shull yelled “keeper” just before the ball appeared to ride a gust that push the ball just beyond Shull’s reach.
“That was all him (Beruskens),” Steamboat Springs’ coach Rob Bohlmann said of the direct free kick. “He just made that decision on his own.”
The Sailors could have very well had a 3-0 lead at halftime if not for Shull. In the 12th minute, Shull made a save on a penalty kick by Steamboat Springs’ leading goal scorer Murphy Bohlmann. The junior and son of the Sailors’ head coach was a main focus for Golden.
Shull also made a diving save late in the first half to keep Steamboat’s lead at 1-0.
Bohlmann came in with 24 goals on the season. In every the junior forward scored the Sailors either won or tied the game. In Steamboat’s three losses — Battle Mountain, Glenwood Springs and Centaurus — Bohlmann didn’t find the back of the net. Tuesday’s victory was the first game all season the Sailors won without Bohlmann scoring a goal.
The 1-0 win for Steamboat Springs heads the Sailors into a second-round match against No. 5 TCA next Tuesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Golden (11-5 record) control possession and have several scoring chances in the final 40 minutes with the win at the Demons’ back.
“All those long throws. All those set pieces. We couldn’t find the net today,” Golden coach Luke Vanderglas said after the Demons failed to score in a game for only the second time all season. “It’s disappointing.”
Steamboat Springs were able to its fifth shutout win of the season and advance to play No. 5 The Classical Academy in Colorado Springs in the second round of the tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
“It was definitely hard,” Beruskens said of defending against the Demons and the wind in the second half. “We played calm and when in doubt we cleared it out.”
It was Golden’s first winning season since 2014 when the Demons went 10-6, but suffered a first-round loss at Montrose. The last playoff win for Golden was in 2013.
“I feel really bad for the seniors,” Vanderglas said as the season came to an end for the Demons. “They really put their heart and soul into this team and program. They left it on the field today. It just didn’t got our way unfortunately.”
Steamboat Springs defenders swarm on Golden junior Douglass Beeman (8) during the 1st-round game of the Class 4A boys soccer state tournament. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)