After a loss in the second round of the playoffs Tuesday night, the Steamboat Springs boys soccer team did not pack up right away. Instead, they grabbed a soccer ball and used it to play pickup basketball in the Jefferson Academy gym. 

They were not ready to say goodbye. 

“The guys just wanted to take in the moment, be in the moment and be with each other before we moved on,” said head coach Rob Bohlmann. “The guys realized the effort, time, relationships and the teammates they had this season was really special. The seniors were a great group and the vast majority of them grew up playing together.” 

No. 15 Steamboat suffered a 2-1 loss to No. 2 Jefferson Academy on Tuesday in Broomfield, officially eliminating the Sailors from the playoffs. 

Bohlmann said it was a hard-fought game on a narrow field that led to dangerous scoring chances for both sides. Ultimately, however, the score was knotted at 0-0 heading into halftime. 

It was a great conversation in the locker room ahead of the second half. Bohlmann pointed to the belief the players and coaches have in each other as a focal point of what made the team so successful this season. 

A group of players had suggestions on making minor tweaks to the shape of positioning for the second half, which Bohlmann described as a “great two-way collaboration.” He noticed an uptick of scoring opportunities in the second half because of it. 

“The guys knew what was on the line,” Bohlmann explained. “They were really focused and felt really positive in the opportunities they felt they were going to create. The belief was always there.” 

Jefferson Academy was first on the scoreboard with a “cracker” of a goal, later scoring its second of the game after being awarded a penalty kick. 

A late Sailors goal off the foot of senior Jeffrey Sturges provided an opportunity for Steamboat to force overtime. But a handful of genuine scoring opportunities in the final minute failed to result in the Sailors finding the back of the net.

Bohlmann said Sturges was “beat to a pulp” after acquiring a number of fouls in the game. 

“The way Jeffrey plays and the sacrifice — physically — that he takes was really heroic,” Bohlmann said, while also giving major props to freshman Cesar Carillo for creating “magic” offensively. 

Bohlmann said the toughest part of this season ending goes beyond the results. Many of the boys grew up playing soccer together and played this season for each other. It made the goodbye even harder.  

“This group really showed a lot of growth and development,” Bohlmann said. “It really started to peak as we all saw in the final third (of the season) and in the postseason. We were playing our best soccer.”

Steamboat Springs 1, Jefferson Academy 2
SS: 0 1
JA: 0 2