Heading into last week’s regular season finale against James Irwin, Manitou Springs boys soccer coach Ben Mack felt the Mustangs were safely in the Class 3A state tournament — although he didn’t want to say it publicly.
That suspicion was confirmed on Monday, Oct. 24, as the Colorado High School Activities Association released the state playoff brackets and the Mustangs made the field as the No. 27 seed. They traveled to KIPP Denver Collegiate Prep on Wednesday, Oct. 26, but the results were not available at press time.
The Mustangs (8-6-1 overall, 1-4 Tri-Peaks) stumbled a bit to conclude the regular season. They suffered close losses to Atlas Prep and James Irwin, but had done enough earlier in the year to make themselves a playoff team.
“I’m real encouraged,” Mack said. “Last year, we lost about five or six games by one goal.
“We just couldn’t find a way to win those close games. This year, we’ve lost some close games but we also won a good chunk of them too.”
In the regular-season finale, Mack knew his team was more poised to press offensively than it was against Atlas Prep. Evan Yount has been a vital part of the Mustangs’ offense and scored both goals in the 3-2 loss to James Irwin.
Yount missed the Atlas Prep game; the Mustangs were unable to generate a lot of offense and eventually fell 2-0. Even with his return, the emphasis will be on the back line’s play.
“That’s going to be important,” Yount said. “They’re going to have some strong attacking players so, if we’re strong in the back, I’m sure we’ll have a chance at beating them.”
Having Yount back on the field gives the Mustangs their best shot at scoring an upset in the state tournament’s first round.
The White Tigers have given up just 11 goals to their opponents this year. The most they gave up in a single game was three in a loss to Lake County on Sept. 10.
Manitou and KIPP do not have a single common opponent on their schedule this season, so Mack and the team dove right into prep work after the bracket was released on Monday.