Durango High School girls lacrosse players, coaches, parents and fans must be very thankful that Fiona Chandler lost a bet six years ago.
The star senior goalie had a bet with current teammate Jordan Meininger that if Chandler played a year of lacrosse, then Meininger would play a year of hockey.
Fast forward six years and neither of them is playing hockey. Chandler has played goalie for the Demons since she was a freshman and has starred for Durango, helping lead the program to new heights.
Chandler has been one of the best goalies in the state as a senior and has led Durango to a 10-3 regular season record. The Demons are in a position to host a home playoff game next week.
“I'm feeling pretty good,” Chandler said. “I'm really excited. I feel like the team this year has been especially exciting because we have a bunch of underclassmen. They're all learning the ways of lacrosse and getting into the groove of the team, which is pretty sweet. It's awesome because we have a pretty good spread of people who score and our defense is the same as last year. So it's been a really fun season.”
Chandler grew up playing hockey and played hockey goalie starting when she was eight. She’s always liked being in the high-stress position of goalie; she enjoys the leadership position and working with the defense.
After Chandler began playing lacrosse in eighth grade, it was perfect timing for her freshman year because the varsity team needed a goalie. But Chandler had hip issues from playing goalie in hockey and had to work through those while getting up to speed with high school lacrosse.
She started her high school lacrosse career splitting time as a freshman before she earned the starting job in the second half of the season.
Durango girls lacrosse head coach Eric Elliot said he remembers how, even as a freshman, Chandler always had the right mindset in goal; she had a short-term memory and if she let a goal in, she’d forget about it. Chandler’s quick hands stuck out as a freshman, which Elliot thinks translated from her hockey-playing days.
Since her freshman year, Chandler has had a great save percentage, .540 or above every year, and the Demons won 10+ games twice and made the playoffs every year. But it was her junior year when she felt like she made the biggest leap.
Elliot saw it too; Chandler started becoming more confident and played the goalie position more athletically and in a more active style than previous goalies Elliot coached.
“This year, she’s really come out, and I hate to say more athletic, but she’s taken a few more chances with passes, like kids passing from behind the net,” Elliot said. “Maybe taking a step out of the crease or toward the mouth of the crease there to interrupt another pass in the front of the net.”
Chandler has also been in a leadership role this season, which has only added to her value. She’s been mentoring sophomore backup goalie Jody Holden, who recently picked up the sport. Elliot said Chandler has a good mix of leading by example and with her voice.
The Demon lacrosse veteran has enjoyed mentoring Holden and helping her get into the high school lacrosse mindset.
“It's been awesome to have someone,” Chandler said. “A lot of times as the only goalie, you can get stuck in a bad mindset or a bad game and you have to sit there and go through it. But with another goalie, it's pretty sweet to count on them and trust in them that even if you're having a really bad day, they're there to help out and help the rest of the team.”
Chandler, who’s heading to New York to attend Cornell University to study information science with a data science focus. She’s looking into playing club lacrosse there. Before that, she and Elliot hope to keep winning and get further into the playoffs than they have before.
Once the playoffs are done, Elliot knows he’ll have a tall task to replace her.
“She’s by far the best goalie (I’ve coached here),” Elliot said. “Second isn’t even close.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
