YOUR AD HERE »

Hartmann’s late free kick lifts Glenwood Springs past Roaring Fork

Jeff Caspersen
Post Independent Staff
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
Jeff Caspersen Post Independent
ALL |

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado – Glenwood Springs goalkeeper Cane Albrecht implored his boys soccer teammates to get something going on offense.

“Put it in the net, Demons!” he shouted with about 15 minutes remaining in Saturday’s game against visiting Roaring Fork.

Neither team had put the ball in the net up until that point, thanks in large part to the efforts of Albrecht and his goalkeeping counterpart, Domingo Leyva.



Some seven minutes later, Glenwood Springs junior Kevin Hartmann answered Albrecht’s call.

With teammate Michael McGraw using his body to pry open a wedge in a four-man Roaring Fork wall, Hartmann split the gap with a left-footed free kick and delivered the Demons a 1-0 win over their Roaring Fork School District Re-1 mates.



“I just sort of kicked it,” said Hartmann, who put some major velocity behind a roughly 20-yard shot. “I tried to put it on goal. I think Michael might have messed them up a little bit, got in the way a little bit. … It’s a tactic we can sometimes use.”

Roaring Fork followed Hartmann’s 72nd-minute strike with a renewed sense of urgency. The Rams attacked – in a big way.

First, Enrique Abarca lofted a soft liner that smacked the crossbar and ricocheted to the ground. The 74th-minute near-miss looked as though it might have struck the grass behind the goal line, but officials ruled otherwise.

Juan Portillo nearly converted the equalizer twice afterwards, rocketing a 10-yarder right into Albrecht’s arms in the 78th minute and then, from point-blank range, heading a cross from teammate Dalton Handy that found its way to Albrecht.

The Glenwood keeper had his eye on the ball the whole time.

“I just basically watched it,” Albrecht said. “Every time it crosses from center, I watch it all the way. If I read it right, I can go out and punch it, but I just read it all the way to his head.”

Disaster averted, the Demons went on to run out the clock.

“It was a well-matched game,” Glenwood Springs coach John Mount said. “We were glad to host Carbondale here. It was pretty even.”

The possession battle did play out in even fashion, with both teams producing scoring chances here and there but with neither team dominating the other.

“It was a great game,” Roaring Fork coach John Ackerman said. “One moment I looked over at John and said, ‘Wow, this is a good matchup. This is great.’ … It was a great matchup, a great matchup. I’m just sad about that free kick.”

The loss dropped Ackerman’s squad to 1-4 overall, while the Demons improved to 3-3-1.

Next up for Glenwood is a Tuesday visit from Steamboat Springs. Roaring Fork travels across Carbondale to face Colorado Rocky Mountain School the same day.

jcaspersen@postindependent.com


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.