Rivalry games tend to bring out the best in competitors. That held true as the Manitou Springs boys soccer team had to battle to a 3-2 double-overtime win against Colorado Springs Christian School on Sept. 22.
Each team scored a goal in each half to end the 80-minute regulation block in a 2-2 tie. Gavin Kopp and Bowman Hall scored for the Mustangs (5-2-1 overall) before Lukas Merz hit the game-winner in the second overtime period.
The win snaps the Mustangs’ three-game winless streak, which includes losses to Vanguard and Thomas McLaren and a tie with Bayfield.
Manitou scored three goals in that three-game stretch, making the scoring effort against CSCS a much-needed burst of offense for the team.
The Mustangs play a non-league game against Ellicott on Thursday, Sept. 29, before jumping into Tri-Peaks play. Five of the last six games of the year are league games with a non-league contest against Pagosa Springs in between.
The Mustangs have now outscored their opponents 25-9 on the season and would love to see that dominance hold up. Manitou has just about a month left in the regular season and currently sits at No. 17 in the CHSAA selection and seeding index.