Wait finally over for top-ranked Salida in Colorado boys soccer

The empty feeling of being one game away from playing for a state championship has stayed with the Salida boys soccer team for the past 10 months.

The Spartans found themselves on the short end of a 1-0 loss to The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs) last November in the Class 3A state semifinals. Until the team took to the field Aug. 28 for the 2014 season opener against Woodland Park, there had been no opportunity to wash away the bitter taste left from that moment.

"It's rough. I had a chance to tie the game and missed it. So often I think about that and it kind of haunts me," Salida senior Dustin Linza said. "It makes me want to get back out there and go, but I couldn't. I had to wait a whole year before I could try again."

Fortunately for Linza and his teammates, that wait is finally over. The Spartans kicked off the fall campaign with a 3-1 victory over the Panthers, with Linza punching in two goals and junior Nick Thayer adding another.

"We didn't play as well as I would want, but it's the first game," Salida coach Ben Oswald said. "We'll take it one step at a time."

The 2013 season was shaping up to be a dream one for Salida, which went undefeated in the regular season before notching a pair of postseason victories. The Classical Academy – which moved up to the 4A ranks this year – ended that run, but it has only made Salida that much more hungry. The Spartans began the year ranked first overall in 3A in the CHSAANow.com preseason poll.

"They want to prove to themselves that we can get back there, even though we graduated some very important players off our squad," said Oswald, who graduated four players who combined for 33 goals, as well as the starting goalkeeper.

But with the return of Thayer (22 goals), Linza (12 goals and eight assists) and sophomore Evan Coit (nine goals), there is plenty of firepower on offense. Seniors Will Gilchrist and Josh McGill, junior Matt Page and sophomore Cannon DePriest also return.

"Our intention is to become a more potent attacking team. Last year we had an incredible amount of different goal scorers," Oswald said. "This is something I want very much to happen. We have some beginnings of that happening, and this is what, to me, makes for a much more effective team."

The loss of Derek Husvet, now at Colorado Mesa University, was a big one. Oswald said the former keeper kept the team in so many games over the years as the Spartans were developing, but Des Lau and Joe Gilmore are stepping in nicely.

"Between the two of them I'm pretty confident," he said. "They don't have the big-time experience, but their learning curve is quite sharp and I'm very hopeful going forward that we're going to be secure."

With Salida having a little more than 300 students, the boys soccer team also draws from Buena Vista High School, which has no boys program. It's quite the commitment for the players, who commute 25 miles each way for practices, in addition to the nearly two-hour drives required for away games.

Linza is one of six players on the team from Buena Vista.

"I've been on the (Chaffee County United) club team with those kids since I was in fourth grade. We've played together a long time," Linza said of his Salida teammates. "I love doing it. Some of my best friends are from Salida. It works out – we get each other."

Linza admitted starting the season with the No. 1 ranking was nice, but it also painted a target on the team's back. Opponents will be coming after Salida in hopes of knocking the team out of that top spot.

"We've been talking at practice, if we're going to keep that spot we're going to have to work harder," he said. "It will be tougher to keep it than to get up there."

The ultimate goal is for the Spartans to first capture 3A Region 2, which includes tough outs in Colorado Springs Christian, Manitou Springs and Vanguard Charter (Colorado Springs). From there it's a matter of getting back to the postseason and seeing if the team can make another run at the state title.

There is some precedent – in 2003, Salida went undefeated in the regular season before falling 1-0 to Holy Family (Broomfield) in the state semifinals. In 2004, the Spartans captured their first state championship.

"We're hoping that history repeats itself," Oswald said.