Knowing a Sept. 5 showdown with Highway 82 rival Roaring Fork (Carbondale) was fast approaching, Basalt’s boys soccer gained a vital morale and momentum boost Saturday morning by out-battling Bayfield 3-2.
Basalt improved to 2-2 overall with the win. Bayfield fell to 2-2 overall with the loss.
The Wolverines, however, stepped onto their home pitch with plenty of energy after losing a competitive 4-3 verdict the previous afternoon to 4A Grand Junction Central, and kept the Longhorns at bay until the 22nd minute, when freshman Josh Vilchis ran onto a pass from senior Lorenzo Salazar and zipped a shot past oncoming goalkeeper Orion Botsford.
The guests’ desire truly showed through in the 29th when senior Jeffrey Ramos not only beat Bayfield’s close-marking Zach Hufnagel, but drew a foul against the junior while inside the Wolverines’ 18-yard box. After the ball was placed upon the penalty spot, Salazar shot low and right of Botsford – who’d guessed left – for a 2-0 advantage.
But Botsford limited the damage at that, partially by disrupting a Vilchis breakaway in the 31st and forcing Vilchis to put his shot just wide enough to hit the near post. Still, the ’Horns had more to offer and nearly put the match out of reach after halftime when in the 51st minute, Ramos deftly hooked a low 20-yard free kick around a wall of Wolverines, and just inside the far post beyond the screened Botsford’s dive.
Bayfield wasn’t subdued, however, and after Basalt junior keeper Erik Palomares blocked a 57th-minute shot taken by Wolverine junior Ayden Casillas, Wolverine junior Brayden Hoffman alertly booted the rebound into the vacated net. With newfound fire Bayfield began taking more and more chances and again reaped dividends in the 74th as a Casillas shot was redirected past Palomares by Longhorn senior Milton Ramos for an own-goal cutting the visitors’ lead down to 3-2.
As the match intensified even further, each side was hit with a yellow card but nothing more changed on the scoreboard before the final whistle sounded.
Bayfield will next play at 11 a.m. Saturday versus 5A Farmington. The Scorpions were off to a 2-1 start before hosting Durango (1-0-1) on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
