There will be a lot of new faces on the field for the Durango High School boys soccer team this season. The goal of winning continuing the program’s strong tradition, winning league and competing for state stays the same.
Durango lost its top four scorers from last year’s squad that went 12-3-3 overall and 7-1-2 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League for second place in the league. The Demons won two games in the 4A state playoffs before losing to No. 1 seed Mullen in the quarterfinals in head coach Sean Ackerman’s first season.
Back to the present, the Demons have made cuts and they began practice on Monday as the program looks to have its 11th consecutive full season (2020 was cut short because of COVID-19) with 10+ wins.
“I feel really good,” Ackerman said. “We look very dynamic; we look fit; we’ve got a lot of quality from all areas on the field. So, we're going to create a lot of goals this season. Of course, every year we lose a good class, but every year a new good class comes in.”
Gone from last year’s squad are graduated seniors Mavrick Rodriguez (last year’s second-leading scorer), Flint Gervais (last year’s third-leading scorer) and Orlando Palacios (fourth-leading scorer).
All of those losses were expected as they graduated. However, one loss that wasn’t expected after last season was Dylan Burns. As a junior last year, Burns led the team with 20 goals, was tied for third on the team with five assists and was honorable mention all-state.
Burns is also a Division I prospect in football as a kicker. Therefore, he decided to stop playing soccer and focus on kicking for the Durango High School football team as he knows his future is in football.
Ackerman has known for the past month that Burns wasn’t returning to the soccer team. He appreciates how great of a kid Burns has been and how Burns wanted Ackerman to know about it first.
“It's a bummer, but obviously, we’ve got to support what he wants to do and we've always been supporting that and his decision,” Ackerman said. “So, we wish him good luck with football, but in terms of our attack, I don't think we're going to struggle too much just because we have so many dynamic players, some quality sophomores coming up to fill that role.”
With Burns gone, Ackerman expects senior midfielder Derek Caudle to step up after leading the Demons with seven assists last season. Other seniors Jonas Hughes and Benji Masterson are expected to help lead the attack along with junior Miles Daley and sophomore Connor Allen.
Ackerman knows last year’s team was all about grit and defense from the beginning and evolved into an attacking team. This year, he thinks his team has the speed, athleticism and soccer IQ to play the way he wants, with players able to play any position, feel confident they can make runs and have teammates cover for them.
On the defensive side, he wants his team to have a high press. Seniors Wes Recla, Eli Marshall and Keane Hammond will play a big role on defense as well as junior Owen Martinez.
All four of those players and the team have a fantastic safety valve in senior goalkeeper, multiyear starter and honorable mention all-state Quinn Harrison.
“He's always been an amazing shot stopper to make some tremendous saves,” Ackerman said. “But a couple of those things that I think he's added to his game is his distribution. He's able to pinpoint a pass now and credit to our assistant coach Keeler for moving him along that line.”
The Demons have an almost identical schedule to last year in terms of order of opponents. However, some of the road and home games have been flipped from last year, like the opener against Legend at home on Thursday and second game against Rampart on Saturday.
Ackerman thinks his team is good enough to win the 5A/4A Southwestern League against Grand Junction, Grand Junction Central, Montrose, Palisade and Fruita Monument. He also always has the goal of winning the state title.
But, these goals come in phases and build off each other. So, the first goal is to beat Legend on Thursday. Then, some more goals could follow if the team scores goals like Ackerman thinks they can.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
