Though the boys U15 Rush Pikes Peak Nike soccer team was outmuscled and outmanned, it refused to be outgutted in the Pikes Peak Invitational championship.

The hometown team clashed against bigger, faster and stronger West Texas United, but fell short, losing the boys U15 championship 3-1 Thursday afternoon at the Air Force Academy.

The game was scoreless for most of the first half, but a goal from forward Marc Casares in the 39th minute gave Texas a 1-0 lead and broke the spirit of Pikes Peak.

“It’s always tough to get scored on 30 seconds before halftime,” Pikes Peak coach Espen Hosoien said. “There were some heads hanging down at halftime because of that.”

In the second half, Pikes Peak showed signs of fatigue. It wasn’t marking Texas players tightly and failed to sprint for balls on multiple occasions. Yet, it fought until the last whistle, even getting a goal in the 79th minute by Aaron Archer.

The grittiness of Pikes Peak got the attention of Texas coach Jared Richardson.

“They played us really tough and their resiliency was hard for us to combat,” he said. “They never quit. All of their kids played with a lot of heart.”

A true telling of the “heart” Pikes Peak showed was in the play of midfielder Gabe Aguero. The 15-year-old from Monument, sporting a cast on a broken left arm he suffered a week prior to the tournament in a bicycling accident, played the majority of the 80 minutes.

Pikes Peak goalie Adam Fiala made a save while West Texas’ Matthew Lopez hoped for a rebound during Thursday’s game at the Air Force Academy. Photo by JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE