No. 1 Battle Mountain boys soccer claims senior-night shutout

When Dave Cope rolled out his planned starting lineup — all 11 Battle Mountain seniors — for Thursday’s game against Evergreen during practice earlier this week, the first pass back to goalie Ezequiel Alvarez went into the net.

Junior varsity: 1, senior varsity: 0.

“Glad we got that out of our system in practice,” the coach stated.

The Huskies had none of that in the actual game. They celebrated what Cope called an “epic senior class” with a 4-0 senior-night win over Evergreen. And yes, Cope kept all 11 on the field for the first 25 minutes.

“These guys have been around for a semifinal run, a final, a championship and will start the playoffs next week at home,” Cope said. “That will be their 15th playoff game in four years — an entire extra season.”

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Alvarez returned from injury to his post for the first time this season, launching the through-ball that set up Grey Glowacki’s opening goal in the first four minutes.

“Zeke has been working so hard on his rehab, with help of our trainers, Lyndsey and Brooke,” Cope said. “It was a huge moment for him to be able to play the first half with his fellow seniors.”

The Huskies also received scores from Jakob Methvin and seniors Emilio Paulon and Jonathon Espinoza. Cope spoke to the importance of several upperclassmen, even those who don’t often get their names in the stat sheet.

“So happy for kids like Luis Castillo, who moved up from the development team, Efrain Canales, who trained so hard all during break,” the coach said. “Rafa Bustillos, Zahid Servin, Luis Ponce — (they) don’t always get on the field but still help us build culture, compete in training and improve every day.”

Senior Charlie Strauch, who notched a hat trick earlier this year against Cheyenne Mountain, was marked closely by the Evergreen defense throughout the night.

“He’s been a fantastic captain and leader and also contributes key goals when they are needed,” Cope said before turning his praise to two-year captain Daniel Sanchez — who helped preserve the shutout as the Huskies rotated Anthony Raudales back into the net during the second half.

“He’s been a great leader,” Cope added.

The victory over the Cougars, who came into the match as the ninth-best team in the state with an 11-3 record, boosted Battle Mountain to the No. 1 spot in the most recent CHSAA Selection & Seeding Index. The defending 4A state champions and state runner-ups in 2022 haven’t assumed poll position since the beginning of the season.

Battle Mountain (10-3-1) closes out the regular season at No. 4 Mullen (10-2-2) on Saturday.