Futbol friendship: Battle Mountain and Eagle Valley rivalry rematch brings club teammates to the pitch one final time

On the eve of her last rivalry prep soccer game, Eagle Valley senior Addison Mandeville glances at the photos hanging in her bedroom.

“Now I’m just thinking about all these teams I’ve played on with these girls,” she said before pinpointing one particular picture: a group of 9 and 10-year-old Vail Valley Soccer Club players posing after winning the Grand Mesa Invitational Tournament (GMIT) Border Battle years ago.

“The smile on all of our faces was just so real,” Mandeville stated.

After a decade-long futbol friendship, members of the Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain girls soccer teams will take to the pitch one last time on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Edwards. The stakes and storylines couldn’t be much sweeter, either. After playing to a 2-2 tie in their first meeting, the Devils (6-5-3 overall, 3-1-1 league) enter the rubber match on a two-game win streak while the Huskies (7-4-3 overall, 4-0-1 league) sit atop the 4A Western Slope. The winner takes the league title, something the Devils have never done.

“That would be really cool, especially to win it against Battle Mountain,” Eagle Valley senior Chloe Greener said.

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Even more meaningful, though, are the relationships that have been made through the years.

“There’s been so many memories,” said Battle Mountain goalie Elle Glendining. “Win or lose, it’s going to be sad that I’m never going to get to play with — or against — these people I’ve grown up playing with.”

The trio first forged a friendship — along with several other current teammates — at the Vail Valley Soccer Club during elementary school. All remembered the aforementioned breakthrough win in Grand Junction, one of the premiere Western Slope club tournaments.

“I think we only lost one or two games that year,” Glendining said. “That showed us that ‘hey, we can play’ and should all stick with it.”

Their old Vail Valley Soccer Club coach, Michael Flato, was an important early influence, Greener said.

“He kind of changed all of our perspective on soccer and made us more confident — and also showed us how we have to work to be successful,” she added. “And that kind of led into our current coach, Jess (Platt).”

Platt coaches Eagle Valley’s varsity girls team and the VVSC club team that both Devils and Huskies play on during the off-season. That group has won the Vail Cup numerous times, competed in the President’s Cup and even went to the Donosti Cup in Spain in 2023, all the while climbing to Premiere 2 status in the Colorado Soccer Association Advanced League. Glendining said the two-week trip to Spain was one of her fondest memories.

“It was fun playing soccer against people who didn’t even speak our language,” she said. “We were connected through soccer.” 

“I’ll never forget that,” added Mandeville, who also paired up with Husky junior Thea Armistead on the Mountain Select Olympic Development Program team. The two tried out for their respective age-group U.S. national squads in Salt Lake City last summer. Next year, Greener and Glendining plan to play club soccer at Colorado State University and Cal Poly, respectively, while Mandeville is slated to join Metro State’s NCAA roster.

Could one ‘last’ bring another ‘first?’

In 2003, the Vail Daily reported the Eagle Valley girls soccer squad was playing for its first league title against Basalt. The Devils fell 3-1, however, finishing the year with a 15-2-1 overall mark and 11-1-1 record in the 3A Western Slope. In addition to that runner-up finish, they were also second in the standings in 2015 and last spring, too. After weathering a tough start to the 2025 campaign, Eagle Valley has won four of its last five (with a 0-0 tie against Palisade being the other result), allowing just two goals along the way. Mandeville, who has scored six times during that stretch, said the team’s ever-growing chemistry is a big reason for the run.

“Towards the middle and end of the season is kind of when we lock in, find our formulas and flow,” she said. “I think that’s played a big part.”

Given the past history and potential rewards woven into Saturday’s rivalry rematch, Greener anticipates feeling a mix of excitement, nerves and perhaps sadness on the field.

“Knowing it’s my last time playing with them on the same field most likely, (there) will probably be a lot of emotions,” she said. “But I know there will be a lot of adrenaline, too, on both sides. So it’s going to be an aggressive, hard game for sure. But it will be fun.”

One key: who can capitalize the most on a decades-long shared scouting report?

“A lot of us know each other’s style of play, so recognizing that in the game is going to be really important,” Greener said.

Glendining agreed.

“It will definitely play an important role,” she said. “We know Addie is a big goal-scorer and generates a lot of offense for them.”

Mandeville said no matter which team comes out on top, the game is a “win-win for both of us.”

“It’s kind of the closing chapter for both of our teams,” she said. “This is my last time playing with these girls ever.”