It was a decade in the making, but Manitou Springs finally got a boys soccer playoff win under its belt.
Unfortunately, the Mustangs would get just the 5-0 win over DSST: Conservatory Green on April 22 before the season ended with a 2-1 overtime loss to Frontier Academy on Saturday, April 24.
In a shortened season when the number of playoff qualifiers was cut in half, it will still go down as an historic season for the Mustangs (9-3 overall).
A tough loss to James Irwin put the team into a tough spot, needing to essentially win-out to make the postseason.
Their performance on the pitch from that point on didn’t disappoint.
“I think (our results this year) will be the goal from here on out,” midfielder Lairden Rogge said.
When the playoff bracket was released more than a week ago, it appeared that Manitou would face Lamar in the second round, should both teams win their first game.
The Mustangs advanced, thanks to five players scoring goals. Evan Yount scored the first, which turned out to be the game-winner, while Andrew Rhodes, Sean Lowe, Isaiah Thomas and Max Goede also found the net.
Meanwhile, Frontier Academy stunned Lamar. Word from school officials was that Lamar was very much looking forward to getting another shot at the Mustangs after dropping the season finale 5-4, which gave Manitou the Tri-Peaks League title via a tiebreaker.
But with the loss, the Mustangs were given another home game and a chance to advance to this week’s state semifinals at Frederick High School.
Frontier Academy scored in the first half, with Thomas getting the equalizer for the Mustangs about 12 minutes into the second half.
Neither team could break the tie before the end of regulation, but the Wolverines were the ones to get the golden goal in overtime to advance to the semifinals.
“We learned it’s not always about skill,” Rogge said. “It depends on heart and I think they had a lot more heart than we did. We came out pretty flat. It just teaches you that you can’t underestimate anybody.”
The loss doesn’t discount the strides that the program took this season, and Yount, Lowe and Rogge should return as key pieces for next year’s team.
The Mustangs also earned the right to hang a league championship banner in the gym, an honor that previous
Manitou boys soccer teams had never accomplished.
“I think we only lose three seniors,” Rogge said. “We’re returning just about our entire team.”
That’ll give the Mustangs high expectations heading into the fall of 2021.