Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The Sailors soccer team exorcised its Demons away Thursday as they avenged a Sept. 21 loss to Glenwood Springs and came away with a 2-0 win in front of hometown fans at Dudley Field.
Steamboat, 9-2-1 and 6-1, beat the Demons with a stingy defense that allowed just 11 shots on the afternoon.
Sirois started the scoring on a pass from Andrew Johnston at the 23 minute mark of the first half. His shot sailed high into the net from about a 22-yard distance, just above the arc outside the box. The Demons stormed down the field moments later as midfielder Logan Darien headed a shot right in front of Steamboat's goal. But a swarm of Sailors defenders were there to stop any hope of a Demons score.
The first half was full of more action, as Demons midfielder Brian Wright dished a pass to forward Brenton Sylvia right in front of the Sailors net. The play looked to be a sure goal, but a great defensive effort by the Sailors kept the ball out of the net. Another great save by the Sailors involved a diving save near the left corner by goalkeeper Andrew Litzau. Litzau finished the day with six saves.
Mike Rinn added a score at the 20:00 mark of the second half on a pass from teammate Silas Cammer. The cross-field pass was taken by Rinn and was belted into the net with his head. The Sailors kept up its intensity on defense the rest of the way, and they left the Demons with a "zero" for a scoring total in their stat book.
Sirois talked about the difference in play between Thursday's match and the Sept. 21 loss in Glenwood Springs.
"I think we were just ready," he said. "I mean, when we went down there, it wasn't happening and we weren't ready. We had a long bus ride down and I guess we were just ready to play this time.
"We wanted revenge and just came out and got it done."
Steamboat owned the game offensively, as the team continued to press an attack on the Glenwood side of the field during both halves. Cammer and Johnston each fired nice shots at the net early in the first half, only to see their balls scooped up by keeper Marcus Bernier and punted back out to midfield.
Sailors coach Rob Bohlmann described the win as a decent outing for his ballclub. He contributed the team's winning effort partly to playing at home.
"It's certainly to our advantage to play at home here on a bigger field," Bohlmann said. "We played them down at a narrow field, and when they got up early on they really kind of bunkered and attacked the box.
"On this bigger field we were able to knock in the pressure and knock out and stretch them out, and then go back into the box."
Bohlmann said he was proud of the way his team handled Glenwood defensively. He also pointed to a great offensive performance from midfielder Nelson.
"Kyle was very solid in our distribution," Bohlmann said. "He kept Glenwood guessing as far as where he was going to play.
"He's really our quarterback in center field and he's very consistent and he had a tremendous impact in the game."
The Sailors, who hold first place in the league, play next against Palisade.
The Demons, which dropped to 7-4 and 4-3, play the Bears of Rifle High School on Saturday. Glenwood coach Shawn McElroy said he was encouraged by his team's performance despite the loss.
"I thought it was a well-played game," McElroy said. "I felt like, had we gotten a break early on, we had a couple of opportunities we didn't finish on. Had we done that, I think it might have changed the complexion a little bit."
As McElroy and his team packed their bags to head for the buses, the Sailors celebrated a sweet homecoming victory. Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" song played loud on the Steamboat sideline after the contest. The players joked and strutted around like a first-place team should have been doing after a big victory.
Bohlmann, standing in his adidas warm-up suit, was already talking about the game against Palisade after the match.
"We've got to come out and play for results," Bohlmann said. "The biggest thing we want to take into Saturday is, we had bits and pieces today where we played very well. We want to do that consistently for 60, 70 minutes."

To reach Eric Rineer call 871-4229 or e-mail erineer@amigo.net