The Durango High School girls soccer team played to a scoreless overtime draw against Grand Junction on Saturday at a windy and rainy Riverview Elementary School Sports Complex.
Durango (5-4-1, 2-2-1 5A/4A Southwestern League) had chances to score the winner in overtime and had four corner kicks spread out across the two 10-minute halves, but ultimately could not put one in the back of the net.
DHS head coach Jonathan Berzins took a lot of positives from the draw and said it is something to build on.
“The final third alluded us today, and I thought we didn’t create enough chances in the first half,” Berzins said. “That was a much better effort from us in the second half and we answered the call. We created quality chances but just couldn’t finish.”
Grand Junction head coach Joe Graham also came away with takeaways from the draw.
“Durango is a great place to play and it usually comes down to the wire,” Graham said. “I thought we did a good job of holding them off of those corners and set piece opportunities.”
Grand Junction (7-3-1, 2-2-1 SWL) had its big chance late in the game in the 78th minute when Katy Coffin, who scored the game-winner one day prior against Montrose for the Tigers, crossed in a dangerous ball that Laney Laffler almost ran onto, but it was just out of reach and went out harmlessly. The full-time whistle sounded two minutes later.
“Our back line has been solid all year, and today was no different,” Berzins said. “Lydia Schertz is our quiet leader back there and is doing a fantastic job as the lone senior with three sophomores with her. She leads by example, ... along with Emily Badgley, who made some great saves to keep us in it.”
Durango will travel to Grand Junction for a 4 p.m. kickoff Monday against Grand Junction Central.
The Wolverines got two second-half goals to come away with their fourth consecutive win.
Bayfield (5-4, 3-1 3A Intermountain League) got on the board six minutes after the break as Halle Loveday converted from the penalty spot to make it 1-0 in the 46th minute.
BHS’ back line held firm despite the Mean Moose having good attempts to equalize. In the 77th minute, Alamosa (1-8, 1-3 IML) had its best chance of the match and almost tied it when Melody Lipke ripped a shot from just outside the 18-yard box, but went over the crossbar and remained 1-0. Three minutes later, freshman forward Madison Oltmmanns scored in stoppage time to put the game out of reach at 2-0.
“Halle got redemption from yesterday’s PK miss, and then Madison got that insurance goal and it was huge for us,” said BHS head coach Jen Moore. “It got a little sketchy there toward the end, but our defense stood tall. We were physically and emotionally exhausted from yesterday, so to get a clean sheet on top of it, was great.”
Bayfield will look to continue its hot-streak against Ignacio on Tuesday.
TennisThe Durango High School girls tennis team had two strong finishes to close out the Pueblo South Invitational on Saturday. Lily Chick finished in fourth-place at No. 2 singles after she reached the semifinals, while the No. 4 doubles team of Maddy Gleason and Amanda Whidden finished in third and also made the semifinals.
DHS will travel to Basalt on Friday at 4 p.m.
Baseball
BaseballDurango took an early 1-0 lead, but the Fruita Monument Wildcats responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the first and never looked back.
Fruita Monument (8-8, 3-1 5A/4A Southwestern League) backed up a 19-7 win Friday at DHS (5-9, 0-2 SWL) with a 12-6 victory Saturday morning to sweep the series.
Niko Mestas had the lone extra-base hit for Durango in the game, as the sophomore was 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Junior Fynn Hyson was 1-for-4 at the plate with two runs batted in, Elias Fiddler, Sten Joyner ad Gage Mestas each had one RBI for the Demons, while Mestas was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
For the second consecutive day, errors hurt the Demons, as they committed six one day after having eight. That didn’t help sophomore pitcher Gage Mestas, who gave up 11 runs but none earned in five innings of work. He struck out four, walked two and gave up six hits. Fiddler pitched the sixth inning and struck out two and walked one. He gave up three hits and one earned run.
In need of a bounce-back win, DHS will host Pagosa Springs at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Four league games, four wins for the Wolverines.
Bayfield swept a Saturday doubleheader at Montezuma-Cortez with wins of 11-0 and 17-4.
In Game 1, Ethan Morris went 2-for-4 with three hits and five RBIs on two doubles, while Isaac Ross went 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. Hayden Farmer got the win in a complete game performance and struck out six and allowed two hits in the win.
In Game 2, The Wolverines had 17 runs on 19 hits and had 15 RBIs, including four from Alec Demko, who went 2-for-5, and Max McGhehey went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored, and was one of five BHS hitters who finished the day perfect at the plate. McGhehey pitched three innings and gave up two runs, one of which was earned, and walked two, but got the win.
BHS (8-7, 4-0 3A Intermountain League) will remain on the road to face Centauri in another Saturday doubleheader next week beginning at 11 a.m.
bploen@durangoherald.com
