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Maddies lead Durango girls soccer to late win against Grand Junction

Second-half goals by Dearien, Robertson down the Tigers

After a sluggish first half Saturday morning, the Durango High School girls soccer team needed a jump start, and it got the spark it needed to pull away from the one-win Grand Junction Tigers.

In a scoreless game midway through the second half, Durango’s speedy sophomore Maddie Dearien put some nifty moves on the Tigers’ back line and rifled a shot over the goalkeeper to break the deadlock. When the visitors answered back, Demons’ senior Maddie Robertson put a free kick strike from 40 yards out off the crossbar and in the net to lead Durango to a 2-1 win.

The win came one day after Durango beat Grand Junction Central 5-0.

“These back-to-back games are always tough and even the best teams have off days like (Saturday),” Durango head coach Dalon Parker said. “The difference in the great teams is they know how to win games when they aren’t playing their best. The important thing (Saturday) is that we kept fighting and found a way to win.”

Both teams had trouble getting into a rhythm in a first half that saw very few scoring opportunities. As halftime neared, Grand Junction seemed to have its best chance of the half when the referee called a foul on the Demons and awarded a free kick from just outside the box. Before the Tigers had a chance to attempt the free kick, the referee blew the whistle for halftime.

Infuriated by the improper call, Grand Junction head coach Travis Brown ran on the field to plead his case to the referee, and he was issued a yellow card.

“He knows he was wrong on that call, but it happens and I was proud of how we fought back,” Brown said.

Durango (10-3, 8-1 4A/5A Southwestern League) applied pressure in the second half but had nothing to show for it until Dearien sprinted down the right side and took matters into her own hands.

“I just found some space at the corner of the box, picked out a spot in the left corner and hit it with my left foot,” said Dearien, daughter of Christina and Josh Dearien.

The Tigers (1-12, 0-8 SWL) showed a lot of heart for a team having a down year. Soon after Dearien’s goal gave Durango the lead, Grand Junction tied it up on a penalty kick goal from Taylor Hein.

Robertson’s powerful leg had the final answer, though, in the form of a free kick goal that came with only 11 minutes left.

“It’s just nice to contribute,” said Robertson, daughter of Jim and Susie Robertson. “I like playing defense, but putting it in the net every once in awhile is fun, too.”

In four games back from a knee injury, Robertson is among the leading goal scorers on the well-rounded Demons squad with four goals.

Durango will look to win its fifth in a row when the Demons hit the road for a 4 p.m. Thursday game at rival Montezuma-Cortez in the final game of the league season with championship hopes at stake.

jfries@durangoherald.com

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