BAYFIELD – Tilden Berriman spent countless afternoons watching college soccer matches in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, and now he will play in those matches.
The Bayfield High School senior committed to play for the men’s soccer team at Colorado State University-Pueblo on Thursday, reaching his longtime goal of playing in the RMAC.
“I’ve lived in Bayfield for 17 years and have been going to RMAC games at (Fort Lewis College) my whole life. I really wanted to see myself playing on that field, playing at home,” Berriman said. “So, being able to play at Pueblo and able to come back and play against the Fort and all these other teams that are close to home and be able to have my family come watch me after all these years, they’ll get to see it pay off.”
Berriman and FLC were in contact during the recruiting process, but staying in his backyard wasn’t meant to be, as FLC had filled its roster spots. After Berriman made a trip to Pueblo to meet the ThunderWolves, his decision was pretty much made.
“The first time I got invited to Pueblo, it was an indoor night practice to see how I fit with the team. I felt like the second I stepped on the court and played with them everything just clicked,” he said. “From that moment on, I just really liked the whole environment and atmosphere.”
Berriman is the first Wolverine to reach the college soccer ranks in more than 10 years. The last to do so was Ryan Wirth, a 2007 BHS graduate who went on to an illustrious career at Fort Lewis College where he was part of two national championship teams and earned all-America honors as a goalkeeper during his senior season in 2011 – the Skyhawks’ last national championship.
“That’s the comparison; that’s who everyone is comparing him to right now,” BHS head coach Chris Zoltowski said. “Ryan was a goalie, but everyone is comparing Tilden to him as far as he’s going to be the guy who brings the Bayfield soccer program out of Bayfield. Ryan Wirth was 10 years ago, so we’re really excited for our community and this program.”
The 2017 season marked a massive turnaround for BHS, and Berriman was at the forefront with a breakout season, as he led BHS in goals and assists. He accounted for 20 of Bayfield’s 43 goals and finished with eight assists for 48 points.
As a junior, he had seven goals and five assists in 12 appearances. He played one match as a sophomore and recorded one assist.
In 2017, BHS went 12-4 overall and 9-3 in the Class 3A Intermountain League and earned a spot in the 3A state tournament for only the second time in school history. The Wolverines lost to Delta 2-0 in the first round. In the previous three years combined, BHS was 5-31-5 overall and 4-29-4 in league play.
“Walking into (BHS) with my other seven or eight freshmen, we all kind of looked at each other and said, ‘We’re going to go to playoffs and do something for this program,’” Berriman said. “Probably the best memory I have is walking onto the field and hearing my name called during the playoffs. We could say we finally made it.”
CSU-Pueblo went 3-11-4 overall and 3-7-4 in RMAC play last season and will lose only two seniors from the 2017 squad.
Berriman, son of Lexi and Peter Berriman, will play left wing for the ThunderWolves, and Zoltowski believes he can make an immediate impact for a CSU-Pueblo team that struggled to find the goal in 2017. The ThunderWolves only scored 16 goals in 18 matches and were shut out 10 times. Their 16 goals scored ranked second to last among RMAC programs.
“I think he has the ability to contribute right away,” Zoltowski said. “There are some things he needs to improve on, but I think he could start right away and be an asset.”
Berriman and Zoltowski said Berriman’s vision and touch on the field will be his greatest assets that could lead to a good amount of playing time right away.
“I’m left-footed and think I’ll bring good vision to the left side of the field,” Berriman said. “Being able to put in the crosses, they have some pretty tall and skilled strikers, so I think if I can put the ball where it needs to be things will start coming together.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
