COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (December 6th, 2014) Avery Brewing FC won a hard fought game 6-5 Saturday night in front of a packed house at the Colorado Springs Sports Center. The scrappy victory was the Brewers' second game within 24 hours, this time on the road against a very strong and scrappy Rocky Mountain Bighorns team.
Team captain Dan Campbell got the scoring underway 4 minutes into the game. Kevin Haber drove a long diagonal ball off the far wall which Campbell hit first time past the Bighorns goalkeeper. With 2 minutes remaining in the quarter the Bighorns got on the scoreboard after a controversial 3-line call. The goal came after a blocked shot, but the first time finish was excellent.
The Brewers took the lead again in the second quarter thanks to the University of Vermont connection. Point man Kyle Luetkehans received the ball with his back to goal and flicked a cheeky pass into the path of Justin Geibel. Geibel took a touch and fired a shot to give Avery Brewing FC a 2-1 advantage.
Ian Marcheschi made it 3-1 after some beautiful buildup. After keeping possession for an extended period, Ben Donovan zipped a pass across the field to a streaking Sawyer Frank. Sawyer played the ball to Marcheschi where his first time finish found the back of the net.
Right on the stroke of halftime the Bighorns scored a short-handed goal to send the home crowd into a frenzy. Halftime score was 3-2 for the Brewers.
Avery Brewing FC came out strong to start the second half. Dan Campbell scored on a powerplay shortly after the break to make it 4-2, Kevin Haber once again recording the assist. Defender Tyler Stratford made it 5-2 after winning the ball in his own half and carrying the ball the length of the field and smashing a shot near post past the Bighorns goalkeeper. The score turned 5-3 after the Bighorns scored on a powerplay of their own with 4:50 to play in the 3rd quarter.
The intensity picked up in the fourth quarter as the Bighorns started pouring on the pressure. With 9:00 to play a goal was scored off of a rebound to cut the lead to 5-4. Dan Campbell scored what would be the game-winner with 2:30 remaining after his initial shot was blocked. Campbell's hat-trick earned him Man of the Match.
The Rocky Mountain Bighorns weren't done yet though, and with 0:49 remaining they scored another scrappy goal in front of the net to bring the score to 6-5. The Brewers remained poised and confident though and closed out the game, not allowing another look at goal for the rest of the game.
Goalkeeper Marc Herzberger had a fantastic game recording 20 saves, many of which were highlight reel quality, and allowing 5 goals.
Dan Campbell scored 3 goals while Kevin Haber assisted 2 of them. Scoring 1 goal each were Ian Marcheschi, Justin Geibel, and Tyler Stratford. Recording 1 assist each were Kyle Luetkehans and Ben Donovan.
Avery Brewing FC return to action Sunday December 14th before the Winter Break. Kickoff is 1:30 PM at the Apex Field House in Arvada against Real Colorado Edge.