Heading into league play, the Manitou Springs boys soccer team shifted its mentality to focus on the production of the back line to keep their opponents’ goals off the scoreboard. That’s why the start to the 4-3 loss to Salida on Oct. 6 was so stunning.
The Mustangs found themselves down two goals in the blink of an eye and 4-0 in the last 40 minutes.
“It was a shocker for all of us,” coach Ben Mack. “It’s just one of those things that when it happens in a game — and it’s the exact opposite of what we wanted to happen — it makes things way more wide open and changed our strategy completely.”
But this group found a way to battle back. Goals from Evan Yount, Graham Beckum and Bryan Bourgeois got Manitou back into the game. Yount even had a penalty kick opportunity that would have pulled the Mustangs (7-3-1 overall, 1-1 Tri-Peaks) even with the Spartans.
But the shot ricocheted off the crossbar and the Salida keeper swatted away the follow-up.
While trying to look at the positives of the result, the fact that the Mustangs were down 4-0 and battled back to make it a one-goal game was definitely encouraging and something the players hope they can build on.
“We’ve done that a few times and pushed through,” Yount said. “We’ve gotten down and brought it back to within a goal and almost tied it. Doing that has definitely shown us that we are capable of winning those games.”
It’s even better when they don’t have to battle back. Yount scored in the 40th minute to give Manitou a 1-0 lead over Lamar on Tuesday. His shot in overtime slammed off the crossbar where Bowman Hall was waiting to head it in to get the win over the Thunder.
The Mustangs don’t have a lot of time to rest as they head to Woodland Park on Thursday, Oct. 13, for another league battle. With every game for the next two weeks taking on added importance, the Mustangs know they have to go out and get as many favorable results as they can.
“We have to win some games, baby,” Mack said.