U-14 drops three one-goal games in Colorado

The Sidney Soccer Club Black Hawks U-14 team had a long day on Saturday with three consecutive games at Sterling (Colo.) Middle School.

To make matters more exhausting - and more interesting - is that each of the three games went right down to the final whistle. Unfortunately for the locals, they came up on the short end of three one-goal games.

Sidney took on its first challenge with a 10:30 a.m. start time against Haxtun, Colo. Despite a solid first half, the Black Hawks dropped a 4-3 decision. Junior Balandran, however, gave Sidney a spark in the first half with a pair of goals. In fact the Black Hawks were strong at both ends of the field in the opening 35 minutes.

Goalkeeper Chantel Riggs was very strong in net during the first half as she turned back 8 Haxtun shots.

The momentum changed in the second half as Haxtun flexed the Black Hawks net on three occasions. Balandran's cousin, Christian Balandran, was the only goal scorer for Sidney in the second 35 minutes.

"In the second half our defense just fell apart," said Sidney's coach Tina Mines. "Chantel gave up one goal that was a two-on-one and another that was one against her with no defense back."

Late in the contest Riggs faced another breakaway which she stopped cold.

Following the first game the Hawks had little time to recuperate as they faced the Sterling Blue Team. Sterling's fresh legs just might have been the difference as it took the high scoring affair 8-7.

Christian Balandran picked up where he left off in the Haxtun game as he scored three times in the first half. Brody Chavez added a late goal for Sidney to send the teams off for their five-minute halftime break knotted at 4-4.

"It was very exciting. We had excellent possessions in the first half," said Mines.

The second half opened with with more fireworks with a quick goal by the Blues. But the Black Hawks came right back when Devon Shelor responded quickly with a goal for Sidney. Shelor's goal, which was assisted by Chavez, tied the score again at 5-5.

The second-half battle then tilted Sterling's way as it scored a pair of goals for a 7-5 advantage. But the never-say-die Hawks countered with goals by Shelor and Christian Balandran to forge yet another tie.

Sterling had the final say, however, as the hosts scored with two minutes left. Sidney finished off the contest with heavy offensive pressure but couldn't get one over the line.

"We gave ourselves a chance at the end. I think if we had another minute the guys could have tied it again," said Mines.

After three hours of near continuous play, the weary Hawks still showed plenty of fight for game three. This time Sidney faced the Sterling White team and a strong defensive battle ensued in the Hawks 2-1 setback.

The game was also shortened to two 20-minute halves.

Sidney took the early lead when Corbin Shelor scored a first-half goal as a "guest player." Since Sidney lost a couple of players to minor injuries in their earlier contests, Shelor was invited to play for Sidney despite the 15-year-old being a member of the U-19 squad. The White coach, however, had a change of heart and decided not to allow Shelor's participation in the second half.

After Sidney took their 1-0 lead into the second half, the Whites tied up the contest early in the second 20 minutes. A high-toe shot just eluded Riggs to tie the game at 1-1. Sterling scored the winning goal shortly thereafter.

"Had we not played so much I think it would have gone better for us," said Mines. "Our team was pretty tired by the end of the last game."

Sidney will play again on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. on their home turf. The Black Hawks play home games at the Sidney Soccer Complex adjacent to WNCC.