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Moffat County soccer shuts out Grand Valley, 8-0

Andy Bockelman
Moffat County High School sophomore Juan Beserra braces himself as he moves to deflect a Grand Valley pass during the Bulldogs' Saturday game against the Cardinals. The team earned its first win of the season in an 8-0 shutout.
Andy Bockelman

Moffat County High School vs. Grand Valley

Bulldog scoring

First half

Time remaining — Scoring player, Score

34:45 — Marco Ayala, 1-0

21:30 — Ulises Silva, 2-0

9:32 — Alfredo Duarte, 3-0

5:37 — Micajah Prescott, 4-0

Second half

26:34 — Luis Lopez, 5-0

23:11 — Alejandro Almaraz, 6-0

13:13 — Ulises Silva, 7-0

11:34 — Jose Duarte, 8-0

Goaltender Alex Arellano had seven saves.

— Saturday went even better than Moffat County High School boys soccer coach Harry Tripp had hoped. With a sizable lead at halftime, he asked his players to hit a mark of seven goals for the day, which they did.

And then they went a little further.

Moffat County High School vs. Grand Valley

Bulldog scoring

First half



Time remaining — Scoring player, Score

34:45 — Marco Ayala, 1-0



21:30 — Ulises Silva, 2-0

9:32 — Alfredo Duarte, 3-0

5:37 — Micajah Prescott, 4-0

Second half

26:34 — Luis Lopez, 5-0

23:11 — Alejandro Almaraz, 6-0

13:13 — Ulises Silva, 7-0

11:34 — Jose Duarte, 8-0

Goaltender Alex Arellano had seven saves.

A home game against Grand Valley worked very well for the Bulldogs, as MCHS finished the day 8-0 against the Cardinals.

Marco Ayala was on the attack right away, scoring the opening goal about five minutes into the game, with the rest of the team following suit as Ulises Silva, Alfredo Duarte and Micajah Prescott also bombarded the overworked Grand Valley goalie, putting the score at 4-0 by the end of the half.

The visitors from Parachute were working with only 12 players at the beginning, with Christian Vicencio benched as a precautionary measure in the first half after a bad fall. Less than one minute into the second half, Grand Valley’s Luis Ruiz had to be carried off the field after hurting his hip and knee, leaving coaches Chris Walker and Rick Van Vleet with 10 men.

“We knew we were going to be down today, so we wanted to play a little bit better defense,” Van Vleet said.

Grand Valley continued to stack defenders around the goal, but the Bulldogs got through nonetheless, with their first two goals of the half coming from second-chance shots. Deflections of two shots by Alfredo Duarte turned into quick follow-ups from Luis Lopez and then Alejandro Almaraz.

Silva also put in a second goal for MCHS’s seventh, but it was a powerful free kick by Jose Duarte — after a Cardinals hand ball — that hit the back net to everyone’s surprise for the final score.

Tripp said the game was “a great confidence builder” after a tie Tuesday and a loss Thursday, though he made sure his players stayed humble going into a game against a squad that has yet to win this season.

“They came in, and they earned it,” he said. “We came to every ball, we were aggressive, we had a good give-and-go. As a team, it was just good soccer.”

MCHS recorded 39 shots with seven assists on their scoring compared to the Cardinals’ seven shots on goal.

Now 0-5, Grand Valley next takes on Roaring Fork at home.

“Moffat County came to play, no doubt about that,” Van Vleet said. “Our guys didn’t quit even though they were down. It’s a new team and a rebuilding year for us.”

The Bulldogs, now 1-1-1 with a 1-0 record in the 3A Region 3 division, will face Rifle twice in the next week, on the road Tuesday and back at home Saturday.

“We know (Rifle’s) style, so it should be a good game out there,” Tripp said.

Almaraz agreed, crediting increased communication for Saturday’s success.

“After this win, our team is going to be hungry for another,” he said.

Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or abockelman@CraigDailyPress.com or follow him on Twitter @CDP_Sports.


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