Taking over in spring 2022 for predecessor Julia Kidd, Heather Culley’s Crested Butte Lady Titans deserved all the newspaper ink they earned after advancing to the Class 2A girls soccer state championship match.
But after shocking Buena Vista, Fountain Valley of Colorado Springs and Lamar to reach the final, Crested Butte met the same fate as fellow Southwest leaguers Telluride in 2021, losing in Commerce City at Dick's Sporting Goods Park to Lafayette-based Alexander Dawson School.
Culley was a front-runner for SWL Coach of the Year after leading the Titans to the state finals, along with Telluride’s Ramon Rodriguez. The Lady Miners defeated Crested Butte twice in posting an 8-0 league record; Crested Butte ended up a runner-up 6-2. The honor, however, ultimately went to Ignacio’s Alisha Gullion.
Aided by assistants Jessica Bassett and Beau Brooks, Gullion oversaw a squad that finished a fourth-place 2-6 in the league and 2-13 overall, but had four losses come by two or fewer goals. Offensively, however, the Lady Bobcats’ improvement was clearly visible. Putting forth the most production the program had seen in years, IHS totaled 31 goals – and one disallowed because of a handball infraction against Crested Butte.
“Our girls are awesome,” Gullion had said during the season, “because they’ve started from the beginning and are just growing, growing and growing.”
“In the first half of the season there was … intimidation, like ‘I’ve never played soccer before’ or ‘I’ve only played one season’ or ‘I (last) played when I was little,’” she said. “But … they know what to expect; their confidence has gone up.”
Darlyn Mendoza-Lechuga exemplified that elevated enthusiasm. Beginning the ’22 campaign with a hat trick against visiting Del Norte and later scoring four against the Lady Tigers in the San Luis Valley, the sophomore finished with a team-leading 11 goals and was rewarded by being named to the SWL first team.
Junior co-captain Autumn Sage, primarily a defender, also was named to the first team – joining Mendoza-Lechuga and others including Player of the Year contenders Amelie Sante (Telluride, senior forward/midfielder) and Leigh Harpel (Crested Butte, sophomore midfielder), plus Goalkeeper of the Year Jayden Fortner (Telluride sophomore).
Versatile enough to play midfielder, defender and goalie this year, junior Alexis Ortiz and sophomore defender Kristianna Brann scored SWL second team honors for Ignacio.
“I know what they have to offer … and it shows,” said Gullion. “The growth I’ve seen from these girls has been just awesome this year.”
Additional first team picks from Telluride (9-6 overall), which lost the state tournament’s quarterfinal to Lamar, included seniors Francesca Schillaci and Kaleigh Reggiannini. Senior Campbell Ryan and junior Ellie O’Neal also were selected from Crested Butte (12-6 overall), while juniors Maizy Gordon and Courtney Southall represented Ridgway (5-7, 4-4 SWL) and senior Hannah Trujillo hard-luck Del Norte (0-15, 0-8).
The SWL second team also included Telluride senior Ava Hagan and freshman Taylor Carter, Crested Butte senior Maddie Bogard and junior Cassidy Wirsing, Ridgway seniors Aynsleigh Wood and Anna Bartschi and Del Norte freshmen Ahyari Fimbres and Emely Gurrola.
