COLORADO SPRINGS – Nathan Buchanan has quickly fit right back in with the Pine Creek boys soccer team.
The senior forward returned from a broken ankle faster than expected, and was a catalyst in just his third match of the season for No. 7 seeded Pine Creek’s 4-1 win against No.26 Arvada West in a first round of the Class 5A playoffs on Wednesday at Pine Creek.
Buchanan tallied two goals, Wyatt VanHorn and Max Kelly also found the back of the net for the Eagles (11-2-3). Jonathan Trinkle scored for Arvada West (6-7-3).
Because of his net-front presence, Buchanan gave the Eagles an early 1-0 lead when he scrapped together a goal on a driven corner kick from VanHorn.
It wasn’t certain Buchanan would even have this moment when he first went down in a pre-season scrimmage. But, the preparation Buchanan put in while injured is now paying off according to Pine Creek coach Ben Corley.
“It was pretty devastating because he thought he might miss the entire season,” Corley said. “His grit and focus to work though rehab and be mentally locked in…he was putting in all the work in the gym and the weight room. He was doing all the things so when he was cleared he came back way faster than most players in that situation.”
After the Eagles played the majority of the first half in their attacking third, Arvada West made a push at a half chance. The attack was thwarted and Pine Creek quickly countered. Hadley Pena blasted a shot on goal at point-blank range that was deflected right to a charging VanHorn who made the score 2-0 with 2:21 left in the first half.
But, A-West came out of the locker room determined to flip the offensive flow. Tinkle’s goal cut the Eagles’ lead to 2-1. The Wildcats stayed on the attack and pressured Pine Creek goalkeeper Gavin Howell with deep restarts and a series of corner kicks. Howell had a sprawling save in the mixer, a punch save on a restart and a leaping save that sent him to the ground.
While it looked like Arvada West would scrap together an equalizer, Kelly’s swinging-right leg bounced in a rebound on a corner kick and the Eagles were up 3-1 with 14:38 to play.
Moments later, Buchanan earned the brace when he beat a defender and the Arvada West keeper 40 yards from the goal. He calmly settled the punt and had a wide-open net to provide the final margin.
The Eagles’ culture pushed Buchanan to return and helped him fit in almost immediately.
“It was a scrimmage and I went in for a 50-50 challenge,” said Buchanan about the play that sidelined him most of the regular season. “The guy went through my ankle and just broke it. We have great team camaraderie though, I love each and every one of these guys. We have great team bonding. Great team building. It’s just a great environment to be around.”
The Eagles host No. 10 Grand Junction on Tuesday.
(James Nokes)
