Craig Daily Press

Courtesy Photo

The Craig Storm U-14 boys soccer team poses with the hardware won during the Steamboat Mountain youth soccer tournament at the Emerald Park soccer complex in Steamboat Springs. The Storm won its four games during the three-day tournament by a combined score of 15-4, including a 5-0 shutout victory in the title game.

Board up your windows, check your pantry for supplies and brace yourself for what’s coming.

A storm is upon us in Craig.

And its not the kind guided by Mother Nature.

The Craig Storm U-14 soccer team lived up to its name Friday, Saturday and Sunday while competing in its season-ending championship tournament in Steamboat Springs.

Craig (12-0) capped off its un­­defeated season Sunday, defeating the Steamboat Springs Savage, 5-0, clinching the Western Slope State League championship.

“It’s just about what I expected,” Storm coach Rusty Cox said. “I know how these kids play. Whatever level of competition they have been up against, they play to it. And, they proved it this weekend.”

Entering the tournament unscathed at 8-0 through the finish of the regular season, the Storm had gone two months without a game.

When the ball dropped Thurs­day against the Colorado Rush Attack from Denver, Cox admitted his team was a little rusty.

“We had a slow start,” he said. “We hadn’t played in two months and (the Rush Attack) were a good physical team. But, we didn’t back down.”

Craig won the match, 3-2, against a team that Cox said he thought was the best squad the Storm had played all season.

“Take a look at the score,” he said. “That tells the whole story.”

In their second game of the day, Craig was matched up with another team from Denver, this time it was the Colorado Explosion Black.

Cox said the team had to fight fatigue against the Explosion, but a 3-1 victory enabled the team the rest it deserved.

“They were tired, but they don’t ever stop,” he said. “They just go, go, go. They just kept pushing for more, and they came out on top.

“A lot of teams will get relaxed, but not these kids. They kept trying to knock it in the net.”

Full of confidence after beating two teams from the Eastern Plains, the Storm returned to the field Saturday a refreshed an reinvigorated unit, much to the dismay of it’s Game 3 opponent, the Edge Black from Denver.

Needing a victory to reach Sunday’s title game, Craig wasted little time securing their spot.

“We came in fired up,” Cox said. “We knew at that point it was all or nothing. We wanted to get to the finals.”

The Storm led 1-0 at the half then scored three unanswered goals, cruising to a 4-1 win. If not for a defensive miscue, Cox said the game would have been a shutout.

“We were the only team at that point that hadn’t lost,” he said. “And honestly, it could have been a much more lopsided victory.”

When the team reached the field Sunday to play rival — and tournament host — Steamboat Springs, Cox said there couldn’t have been a more perfect match-up for Craig.

“We weren’t nervous at all,” he said. “The kids wanted to play Steamboat all along. They really wanted to beat them, bad.”

The Storm got what they wanted and in a convincing fashion.

Craig saved its best game for the most opportune time.

A 5-0 shutout ensued, as the “team of misfits” as Cox calls them, clinched the season-ending championship trophy.

The Savage “couldn’t penetrate our defense,” Cox said. “Everybody on our team played well. They kept subbing looking for an answer, but they couldn’t find it.”

When the final whistle blew, Cox said he had to run for cover.

“The kids were chasing me around with the water cooler,” he said. “I got attacked. They were so excited one kid accidentally punched me in the face.”

Notes: Alexander Perez and Alan Flores led the team in scoring throughout the tourney. … Goalie Adrian Hernandez finished the season allowing nine goals through 12 games for a miniscule 0.75 goal against average. … Cox praised the play of his midfielders saying they were the reason Perez and Flores were able to score. … Cox is taking over the Moffat County High School varsity boys program in the fall.