The green grass of spring is still under several feet of snow in the home town. But that doesn’t stop the soccer season from getting under way. The Telluride High School girls soccer teams departed Telluride in a blizzard Friday afternoon to head to Cortez for weekend games.

The blizzard gave way to partly cloudy skies and a stiff, cold wind as the JV girls game got underway. The winter-weary, brown grass (at least it was grass) hid the lines, and coach Aja Forestier advised the girls to keep playing until the whistle, as one couldn’t always tell what was in or out of bounds. Shannon Lynch played keeper in the first game of the weekend.

Celine Wright smacked in the first goal against the Pagosa Springs Pirates. Both teams were a bit thin on members and Pagosa could only muster eight on the field to Telluride’s nine. Telluride showed good teamwork with passes to the right places and smart play leading to another goal by Wright for a 2-0 score. As the game finished up and temperatures dropped, Xanthe Demas booted one more in for a final score of Telluride 3, Pagosa Springs 0.

If you followed the recent U-19 State Hockey Championship, many of the girls in the varsity game would be familiar. With the addition of strong players like Elan Johansson, Isabelle Waldman, Mackie Fernald and others, hustle and teamwork gave Telluride a strong showing.

Elan and Natalie Brown found the net for the first two scores of the afternoon. Kat Hess managed a beautiful header for a 3-0 lead at the half. Layers were donned for warmth, and keeper Allison Horn saw a little action.

Several shots by Chancee Forestier came close to adding to the score. After an unfortunate red card for unsportsmanlike conduct to Waldman the team had to play one player down for over half of the second half. Pagosa did manage to get one by Horn and the game ended with a 3-1 victory for the Miners. Telluride had 21 shots on goal to Pagosa’s 6.

Saturday was a bit warmer with fewer clouds but still a strong wind. The varsity played first against the Bayfield Wolverines. Assistant coaches Lauren Newton and Ryan Jaeger helped prep the team, pleased with the previous day’s victory. These teams were quite evenly matched. The Miner girls worked hard for possession and shots with strong attempts by Hannah Smith thwarted early on. A hard kick by Kat Hess hit the goal post with English and spun past the keeper for the first Telluride score. As the first half ended a frustrated offense had 9 shots on goal to Bayfield’s one for a 1-0 score.

Nicki Gallen was next on the scoreboard with a sweet kick left to right into the upper corner of the net. Telluride gained confidence and even with the stiff wind in their faces began to dominate the game. As Bayfield’s keeper was drawn out to snatch the ball, it got away from her. Nicki and Alexa Tassone headed straight for the net. A nice pass from Nicki gave Ali the opportunity to boot it into the empty net, giving Telluride a 3-0 lead that held until the end of the game.

In the final JV game, Allison Horn played the first half as keeper. A corner kick bounced around and off a Bayfield player for the first score, credited to Shannon Lynch. The early lead helped nullify the wind and Lynch scored again, this time off a left-footed shot that also hit the pole and ricocheted into the net. Chancee Forestier spelled Horn in the net giving Allison a chance to show her speed on the field. Though her shots went wide she was a strong and fast presence on the field. No further goals would drop Telluride’s way and the JV squad took home the 2-0 win.

Coach Forestier was pleased with both teams in these first league games. She noted that Maddie Crowell made things happen.

Kat’s header shot was a high point, and the overall consensus was that both JV and varsity squads played very well under cold and intensely windy conditions. Hopefully Mother Nature will add a bit of warmth as the season continues.