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Durango soccer puts on 2nd-half show in CHSAA playoff against Pueblo South

Demons overcome slow start, pour it on late

A bouncing ball moving quickly on a brisk Durango night was hard to control in the first half. In the second half, everything changed.

Under the stadium lights at Durango High School, the Demons’ boys soccer team regained control in the second half against No. 26 Pueblo South. The result was a 3-0 win for No. 7 Durango in the first round of the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A Boys Soccer Championships.

The win advanced the Demons (15-1) to the second round, which they will host next Tuesday against No. 10 Skyview (13-3). The Wolverines from Thornton needed penalty kicks to beat No. 23 Centaurus after playing to a 2-2 tie through two overtime periods.

“We’ve worked really hard and grinded our way to where we are,” said DHS senior defender Leifdon Pratchett, son of Brad and Lisa Pratchett. “We’re excited to be hosting a second-round playoff game for the first time in, well, it’s been awhile. It’s an honor, and we need to start focusing on that one.”

Pueblo South (10-6) stymied the Demons in the first half, limiting chances as DHS struggled to control touches on a turf field it played on only twice before Wednesday.

But DHS kept the ball on its feet and out of the air better in the second half, and the result was increased possession and better scoring chances.

“Uncharacteristic mistakes,” Pueblo South head coach Dustin Ethredge said of his team’s play in the second half. “Defensively, all year, we played very well against truthfully better offenses than what we saw (Wednesday night). The first half, we were solid and composed.”

Leifdon Pratchett got a few long penalty kick chances, and his second of the second half resulted in the Demons’ first score. Pueblo South goalkeeper Sergio Mendoza had the ball bounce and slip through his hands on a 35-yard free kick from Pratchett. With the ball loose in the box, Aiden Urban got his foot to it for the Demons and tapped it home for a goal that proved to be the game-winner.

Not much later, Rodrigo Morales got the ball on his foot at midfield and turned to make a run. He delivered a perfect ball to Max Wilson, who beat his defender and blasted a shot off his right foot into the bottom right corner of goal, giving Mendoza no chance to make a save.

“I didn’t do anything really, it was more (Morales) than me,” said Wilson, son of Kathy and Steve Wilson. “He played it through, it came right to me and I took a shot that went in. Most of the praise to Rodrigo.”

For good measure, the Demons added another goal thanks to Pueblo South. A defender looked to clear the ball but found the back of his own net, as Durango’s Conner Henry was crashing the goal and drew Mendoza’s attention.

“We got a little lucky with that last one,” Wilson said.

For the DHS defense, it was the 13th shutout in 16 games this season, with goalkeeper Trey Furnas handling anything that got behind the Demons’ stout back line.

“It’s the entire team,” Pratchett said of the shutouts. “We get a lot of praise on defense, but it starts up top with forwards putting pressure, the midfield with back pressure and the defense and Trey have been phenomenal.”

The Demons did it all Wednesday without the services of leading scorer Elijah Fenton, a junior midfielder who has 33 points on 10 goals and 13 assists this year. Fenton was out sick but expects to be back next week.

“I wasn’t surprised,” DHS head coach Dalon Parker said of the way his team stepped up with Fenton sidelined. “We are building a program that is a family of kids, and we knew we could do this. That’s how deep we are.”

DHS will host Skyview, and the game likely will be played at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1. After playing only three matches on their new turf field, Parker is thrilled with what the move from Riverview Sports Complex to the DHS campus has done for the fan support.

“We are blessed with this soccer community,” he said.

“Fort Lewis had both of their teams in the building, our student section was rowdy, and the parents are always great. It’s nice to have a 7 p.m. game at our house.”

On the other side of the Quadrant 4 bracket, No. 2 Lewis-Palmer beat No. 31 Mitchell 2-0, and No. 15 Valor Christian beat No. 18 Skyline 1-0. Valor and Lewis-Palmer will face each other, with the winner set to see the Durango-Skyview winner in the state quarterfinals. The only upset in the first round came with No. 20 Evergreen defeating No. 13 Niwot in penalty kicks.

jlivingston@durangoherald.com



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