Twice played forward into space by through-ball passes from senior Asher Madonna, Bayfield sophomore Ayden Casillas knew exactly what to do with each. Netting goals in the 43rd and 71st minutes of play Wednesday night, the sophomore broke open what had been a close contest at halftime, and the Wolverines notched a homecoming week win over Alamosa.
With the 4-1 win, Bayfield improved to 7-4-1 overall and 3-0-1 in the 3A Southwestern league. Alamosa dropped to 1-11-0 overall and 1-4-0 in the 3A Southwestern.
“Well we realized we were either going to have to draw them out with Shae (Railsback), and then find the holes,” said head coach Chris Zoltowski, initially concerned with how Bayfield would penetrate AHS’ extra-packed defense. “Or we were just going to have to play the early ball … and clearly that worked by Ayden’s success tonight.”
“And Asher’s really stepped up … as a leader,” he continued. “He was vocal, he was leading the team, making sure they were onside, making sure the defense was up. He was the commander tonight; I’m really proud of him.”
“We saw that they dropped back,” Casillas said. “So instead of just playing high-press and having strikers sitting in space with no reason, we’re playing more on the wings instead—we just run the sides off and force them outside, then we play it in. Good process.”
Trusting in that process, the Wolverines got on the scoreboard first, with Casillas crossing perfectly to Madonna for an 11th-minute finish past Mean Moose goalkeeper Todd Broyles. Alamosa, however, equalized in the 18th. Junior Cipriano Ramirez took a corner kick from BHS goalie Orion Botsford’s left, and the deflected ball found its way to senior Johnathan Ramirez, who then passed a short distance away from the net to open sophomore Juan Gonzalez-Ramirez for the score.
BHS regained the lead in the 31st, when senior Lance Mitchell, led ahead in the attack by a pass from junior Hunter Ferrell, crossed to sophomore Riley Hanson—who’d only recently entered as a substitute—for a 2-1 advantage which lasted into intermission. AHS did get a minor morale boost when Bayfield sophomore Wyatt Larson was yellow-carded in the 35th.
“We did really well with our passing. That’s been our demise lately; we just hold the ball too long,” said Zoltowski. “And today we started supporting each other off the ball, made some nice passes, opened up some gaps and took advantage.”
“They were bigger, but not faster,” Casillas said. “I think we were just a faster team and we know when a through-ball’s coming; we know when to expect it.”
Losing junior Bryce Keck in the 62nd minute to a reinjured right leg, Alamosa would later lose junior Marvin Rodas for a short spell due to a 74th-minute yellow. BHS, meanwhile, lost Railsback to a yellow in the 79th, after the senior disputed a foul called against Mitchell instead of the Moose Mitchell was battling.
Botsford totaled (unofficially) eight saves in the victory; Broyles booked three.
Up next, the Wolverines will travel to Montezuma-Cortez on Tuesday, Oct. 17, for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
“As the season’s gone on, I think our chemistry’s grown a lot and we’re learning to have confidence building out of the back,” said Casillas. “And as we keep going, we’ll learn from the Cortez game so when Pagosa comes (on the 20th) we’ll be ready.”
