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Bosna shutout keys Demon victory

G. Sean Kelly

The playoffs must be getting close.

The evenings have turned from cool to downright cold, and, perhaps more telling, the action on the soccer field is getting more intense and more physical.

And, in aggressive, tightly defended games, sometimes one goal is enough.



Derek Weller scored in the sixth minute of play and goalie Buster Bosna posted his second shutout of the season against Battle Mountain as the Demons downed the Huskies 1-0 in 4A Western Slope League play at Stubler Memorial Field.

“The ball being as hard as a rock does throw (the offenses) off a little,” Demon coach Bob Guska said. “We did what we had to do, but it is a little scary winning 1-0.”



With just three games remaining, the victory puts Glenwood (5-1-1 WSL, 8-2-1 overall) on solid footing in second place in the WSL. The Huskies (4-3, 7-5) are in a battle with Rifle (3-3-1, 4-6-2) for the third and final playoff spot in the league.

Weller notched the game’s only goal after taking a cross from forward Ross Smith in traffic and beating Battle Mountain goalkeeper Beau Beckley to the low short side.

Both offenses continued to create opportunities, but neither could break through the opposing defense or goaltender.

Bosna and Beckley finished with 12 and 10 saves, respectively, many in spectacular fashion.

“(Bosna) had one fantastic save off one of our players, (Sean) Reynolds,” Battle Mountain coach David Cope said of a Battle Mountain scoring opportunity in the 55th minute stifled by a diving Bosna.

“It was just a good physical game,” Demon coach Bob Guska said. “Our goalie did outstanding and their goalie did a great job.”

The first half was evenly matched as neither team could maintain control in the offensive zone for any substantial stretches.

There were flashes of offense, however.

Following Weller’s score, Bosna protected the 1-0 lead with back-to-back saves in the 23rd minute. He made a solid stop off an indirect Husky penalty kick and, less than a minute later, got just enough of J.D. Lemon’s shot to put the ball off the crossbar and out of play.

“It’s telling that in 160 minutes this season against Glenwood we didn’t score a goal,” Cope said.

At the end of the first half the Demons looked poised to take a two-goal advantage when Ian Lochhead was taken down in the penalty box. The Demons, however, were unable to add to their lead as Ross Smith’s penalty kick sailed wide of the left post.

The Huskies controlled much of the play in the second half, outshooting Glenwood by a 7-3 margin, but couldn’t get on the scoreboard.

Smith had an opportunity to put the game on ice in the 70th minute with a breakaway, but missed the net wide right.

“It would be better to have a 6-0 lead,” Bosna said of the pressure surrounding the slim margin, “but 1-0 is better than being at 0-0.”

Glenwood travels to league-leading Steamboat, which entered Thursday with a record of 5-1 (7-4 overall), for a game at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Demons beat the Sailors 7-6 at Stubler, but Guska knows it will be a different story on the road.

“It will be a very difficult situation playing at Steamboat,” Guska said. “We’ll just go in with our heads up knowing that the winner of the game will probably take the Western Slope title.”


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