The Durango High School girls soccer team opened its season in defeat after it fell 3-0 to Cherokee Trail of Aurora on Friday evening in Grand Junction.
Associate head coach Keane Hamilton filled in for first-year head coach Jonathan Berzins, who was unable to travel with the team for the opening match.
“For it being our first time outside, we were pretty pleased,” Hamilton said. “We’ve been working hard in the gym and have been anxious just to play a match outside. We started out slow, as expected, but slowly we improved and got more comfortable as the game progressed.”
The Cougars (1-0) scored two goals in the first half, opening the scoring in the 25th minute. They then struck just before the halftime whistle. Durango (0-1) went down into the break 2-0.
“We made some changes at half, and we improved a lot,” Hamilton said. “We played in their half a bit, had a few good opportunities, but we couldn’t find that final pass. In the first half, we were mostly playing on the defensive end, but again, with those changes, we grew into the game a bit and it was better play all around.”
Cherokee Trail added a late goal in the 75th minute to seal the win.
DHS will take on Cherry Creek at 10 a.m. Saturday in Grand Junction.
“All in all, it was a good learning experience,” Hamilton said. “We’ve got a new coaching staff, so we’re figuring it out, and plus, our conditioning will improve as we progress. We fought hard and tomorrow will be another good opportunity.”
The Bayfield High School girls soccer team had a tough match in its first game of the season, as the Wolverines fell 4-0 to Salida.
It was Bayfield’s first time on grass after practicing indoors because of snow.
“It wasn’t the result we were looking for and we definitely need to come out better tomorrow,” BHS head coach Jen Moore said. “We have to clean some things up, and when we first came out, we were in a 4-5-1 formation, but I quickly learned that we’re better in a 4-4-2.”
The Spartans (1-0) marched up the field and scored in the opening five minutes of the half and scored another before the 30-minute mark of the match. They would add one more before halftime to make it 3-0.
Moore switched up the formation and had better play in the second half. BHS had an opportunity to open the scoring, but had a penalty kick saved.
“That could’ve been a game-changer for us,” Moore said. “It was definitely a bit deflating because we were playing much better in that second half. In the first half, we just struggled to clear it up the field, but we improved a lot, they just added a late goal, and we couldn’t recover.”
Bayfield (0-1) will play Buena Vista at 10 a.m. at Salida High School.
“I wish it would’ve been a better result, but that’s why we play these games,” Moore said. “We’ll totally be in a formation that’s much better suited for us. When you’re practicing in a gym, you just really don’t know. We’ve got a lot of new faces on this team, and I think we’ll get rolling once we get these early-season nerves out of the way.”
Boys Lacrosse
Boys LacrosseThe Durango High School boys lacrosse team started out its season in dramatic fashion, as the Demons defeated Santa Fe Prep 13-10 with a comeback victory Friday afternoon in Santa Fe.
Senior attackman and midfielder Cullen Robinette scored six goals and tallied five assists for DHS.
Durango (1-0) got off to a slow start and struggled early on with faceoffs, where it went 2-of-5 in the first quarter. But DHS rebounded after that. Santa Fe Prep (0-1) outscored DHS 3-1 in the second quarter and led 6-4 at halftime. In the second half, it would extend the lead to 8-4. The Demons started the comeback midway through the quarter and did not look back.
“They scored a goal early in the fourth on us to make it 10-7, and it just got us going,” said DHS head coach John Robinette. “We had this slow start, and offensively, we knew we could play better, and so our four seniors stepped up and it was a totally different ball game.”
Cullen Robinette was all over the field for DHS, as he went 5-of-8 in faceoffs and tallied two goals and two assists in the final two minutes of the game. Senior attackman Corbin Randle tied the game at 10 with 1:46 remaining off of a feed from Robinette. The Demons won the ensuing faceoff and ran a set play, and the two connected once again, as Randle scored the go-ahead goal with 1:30 left to make it 11-10, Durango. Robinette added two more goals in the final minute of the game. Randle finished with five goals and two assists.
“I’m just super proud of the way we stepped up, and it wasn’t pretty, and there’s a lot to work on, but it was a win,” coach Robinette said. “Give credit to Santa Fe, they were much improved, and we played flat for a lot of that game. But we hung in there, kept our composure and didn’t panic. It was a good team victory.”
Senior goalie Dylan Gaver made 14 saves in the win, while DHS outshot the Blue Griffins 40-27 and won the ground ball battle 32-28, along with 10-of-20 from the faceoff circle.
Durango will play Sandia Prep at 11 a.m. Saturday in Albuquerque.
Girls Lacrosse
Girls LacrosseThe Durango High School girls lacrosse team made second-half adjustments, but Santa Fe Prep was able to score the majority of its goals in the opening minutes of the first half to get past DHS 15-4 on Friday afternoon in Santa Fe.
DHS head coach Natalie Mitchell said that the Demons were able to get in the game once they adjusted to the field.
“We’ve been practicing in a gym like everybody else, so it was our first time playing outdoors,” Mitchell said. “Santa Fe scored a lot of their goals in the first half, but we were able to settle in after those first few nerves and get into the groove of game-time speed.”
Kiara Valley scored three out of Durango’s four goals on the afternoon.
“She was good for us, and I think once we got on the board, we got better,” Mitchell said. “We started getting our spacing back, had some better off-ball movement, and in the second half, our transition game and defense were better. Hopefully, we’ll see more of that tomorrow.”
DHS will have a doubleheader next, as it will take on Pueblo West at 9 a.m. Saturday followed by Duke City at 11 a.m. in Santa Fe.
bploen@durangoherald.com
