Men’s Soccer Wins Big, Escapes With Tie Over Weekend

Courtesy of the ASC Sports Information Desk: Johnny Mercher

Reggie Thompson
The Paw Print

Adams State’s men’s soccer team kicked of the weekend of games Friday with a 4-0 win against the University of Texas Permian-Basin for the first win of the season.  This is the first shutout and second win in the program’s history.
In a word, the win was “phenomenal” according head coach Tim Busen.  “This is a young team…that played to [its] potential today.”
In doing so, the stiff Grizzlies defense shutdown the opponent’s top scorer. Sophomore forward Tyler Gibson, who leads his team with three goals thus far this season, never found the back of the net in four attempts.
Adams State began their dominance with a Hawken Hanna (Haslett, Mich.) goal 5:13 into the game, his first of the season.
Nearly 10 minutes after the premiere goal of the contest, redshirt freshman forward Johnny Mercer, (Longmont, Colo.) showed his resilience getting the ball past sophomore Falcon goalkeeper Craig Branum, (Odessa, Texas) in a rebound effort.
The point in the game, that Busen says capped the it off for his team, came in the 70th minute in which freshman midfielder Sheldon Carr, (Mesa, Ariz.) took it upon himself to split two defenders on the right-hand side of the field and nail an upper-left shot for the player’s first career goal.
Up 3-0 at that point, the Grizzlies were not quite done yet as Mercer returned at minute 81:08 with a header off a corner kick into the lower right corner of the net.
Adams State finished the weekend’s games with a trip to Grand Junction on Sunday to face the Mavericks of Colorado Mesa University.  The Mavericks drew first blood in the 17th minute when redshirt freshman Stevie Palma executed a talented rebound goal after a save by sophomore goalkeeper Paul Pizza, (Alamosa, Colo.). Getting late in the second half, the Grizzlies did not have much time to even up the score.  In the 80th minute, ASC got an opportunity as good as any when a left-side free kick from senior midfielder Peter Freeman, (Longmont, Colo.) to Hanna resulted in the game-tying goal.
Up next on the Grizzlies’ schedule is Colorado State-Pueblo.  In the four 2011 games, the Thunderwolves have yet to grab a regular season win. In 2010, CSU-Pueblo swept Adams State  in a close 1- 0 game on September 17 and again on October 3 in a 4 – 0 shutout.  Almost a year after their first game together, these teams play once more in Pueblo on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.