Menâs soccer blows up at Minesâ field

By Kyle Ringo
The Metropolitan

Coach Brian Crookham sat staring toward the field his team had just finished playing on. It was hard to tell by looking whether he was bewildered or infuriated by what had just happened. And maybe he didnât know, either.

The Metro menâs soccer team lost 4-3 Sept. 24 to the Colorado School of Mines ÷ a team that had not won a game before beating Crookhamâs team ÷ on a penalty kick in overtime at Brooks Field in Golden.

The Roadrunners went into the game fresh off a win over Oral Roberts, a Division I school, and back in the

Top-25 coaches poll at No. 23.

ãI think Mines capitalized on what they had,ä Crookham said. ãWe did a couple of silly things and they capitalized.ä

The silly things amounted to players getting caught out of position and taking risks when they might not have needed to.

Mines led 1-0 at halftime but spent the majority of the first half defending its goal, not attacking. The

Roadrunners narrowly missed tying the game several times.

It took just under four minutes of the second half for Metro to finally draw net. Cory Brown spun a pass from Cody Cobb around the Mines keeper and celebrated buy hugging the corner flag on his knees.

After Metro fell behind 2-1, Jared Zanon tied it again with his sixth goal of the season and third of the week.

ãWe came out in the first half totally flat,ä Zanon said. ãWe didnât play well at all.

ãWe got a little bit lazy in getting back and gave up some goals we shouldnât have.ä

Each team scored once more before overtime, and the fun started.

Metro brought the crowd to its feet several times with a quick barrage of shots early in overtime. Each time onlookers let out a collective ãwhewä when goals didnât materialize.

Finally, at 102:25 Minesâ defender Matt Anderson was tackled as he broke free near the Metro goal. Anderson received a penalty kick.

The Roadrunners had just been denied a call on a similar play less than a minute before at the Orediggers end of the field.

Metro goalie Stephen Babby was fooled on the penalty kick as Anderson faked right and scored left.

ã(Babbyâs) theory has to be to pick a way to go, and hope they play the ball there and heâs going to win it,ä Crookham said. ãIt didnât happen that way.ä

Babby might have singlehandedly kept the Roadrunners in the game long enough to be put in such a lonely situation.

He had made eight saves before the penalty and several of them were cat-like with the junior pouncing on the ball out of nowhere.

Metro players protested the call that set up the game winning goal and Crookham offered no comment when asked about the two plays afterward.

Mines coach Bob Pearson understood the frustration.

It was a good call, Pearson said
ã(But) I believe that the call (on Metroâs end) could have been a penalty kick as well, but it wasnât,ä Pearson said.

Metro likely will drop out of the rankings for the second time this season after the loss.

ãWeâre at a point in the season where things are mentally tough for us,ä Crookham said. ãWe havenât seen our home field yet.ä

Metro has five games remaining, including a return trip to Mines Oct. 5, before it will finally play on the new Auraria Fields.