For the first 75 minutes, the Montezuma-Cortez High School soccer team went step-for-step with Bayfield on Tuesday. Three goals over the final five minutes by Bayfield senior Tilden Berriman undid the Panthers, however, who lost a heartbreaker, 3-0.
The late-game trouble began for M-CHS in the game’s 75th minute, when Bayfield midfielder Dylan Doskocil found room down the far left side and dribbled deep into Panthers territory. Just before reaching the end line, the junior sent a perfect cross toward sophomore Pepe Lova, who deflected the ball toward Berriman for a point-blank shot and score.
Two minutes later, the Bayfield senior struck again when he and teammate Colton Fine broke ahead of the M-CHS defense and moved toward the Panthers’ goal. After Fine took possession of the ball and fired a hard shot off M-CHS goalie Teagan Whiteskunk, Berriman collected the rebound just in front of the net and scored.
“(Fine) and I both thought we were going for the ball,” said Berriman, when asked about the play. “He just went for it, and I went to the side. He shot, and it went off the keeper, and I put it in.”
Berriman completed his hat trick in the game’s final minute when he burst past several exhausted M-CHS defenders and fired a low shot into the left side of the net. After Berriman’s goal, several Panthers players argued among themselves as the realization of defeat set in.
Before its late-game breakdown, M-CHS consistently stymied Bayfield’s offense, thanks to the defensive play of seniors Jelson Yanez, Trey Yarbrough and Parker Bell, and junior Jackson Byerly. Together, the four-man back line consistently disrupted Bayfield’s forwards, who several times appeared frustrated by their inability get clean looks at the goal.
“We have three seniors and a junior in the back, and they’ve been playing well, holding their shape and executing,” M-CHS head coach Bobby Sitton said. “We had a letdown in the final three (minutes), but our defenders are playing well and using their voice.”
Also serving as a bright spot for M-CHS was the play of sophomore goalie Teagan Whiteskunk, who made several saves early in the first half. Whiteskunk’s most impressive play came late in the first half when he dove to his right to deflect a sizzling shot from Fine just wide of the post. “I saw (the ball) coming at me, and instinct just told me to dive,” Whiteskunk said.
“It’s all practice with (coach Sitton). That has helped a lot.”
Although the Panthers offense struggled to generate scoring chances throughout most of the contest, M-CHS nearly broke through in the game’s 50th minute when Bell appeared to score off a corner kick. Officials ruled that the ball did not cross the goal line, however, much to the dismay of Sitton, who briefly argued the call.
“It was a goal,” said the M-CHS coach, when asked about the play. “From my vantage point, it definitely hit up and in. The keeper reached back and drug it out. Those are the breaks of the game, though. You’re going to get some of those.”
M-CHS fell to 0-3-0 on the season with the loss, and Bayfield improved to 3-1. The Panthers’ next game will take place on the road against Alamosa on Sept. 8.