High school girls lacrosse games between Durango and Telluride have been close over the past few years, and the Demons’ best players made plays on Wednesday night at home to make sure the tight contest was a victory.
Durango was down by two goals early in the fourth quarter, but it responded with its best players, securing a 13-11 victory. Freshman Janelle Dingler, junior Indie Eaton and junior Teagan Frausto all had goals in the fourth in the comeback effort. Durango’s defense stepped up with takeaways and stops.
Throughout the game, it always seemed like Telluride had the perfect counterpunch with a score or a timely ground ball. But the Demons came through for a crucial win that puts them in the driver’s seat for the league title with one game against Telluride remaining.
“We just we have a lot of heart, and none of these girls are surprised by what happens in the Telluride game,” Durango head coach Eric Elliot said. “I told them at halftime, I've coached this game for seven years now, so I've had 14 Telluride games, and we've only had two games that were one-sided. We've been here before, so there's no need to get scared.”
Durango improved to 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the 4A Mountain West League. Dingler led the Demons with five goals, Eaton and senior Taylor Babcock added three goals. Junior goaltender Jody Holden had nine saves.
Telluride dropped to 8-4 overall and 5-2 in the 4A Mountain West League with the loss.
Durango struggled to pick up ground balls early and it led to two early goals for Telluride. However, Durango responded by winning some draws, picking up some ground balls, and Eaton and Dingler scored to tie the game at two with four minutes left. Durango’s defense had some great pass breakups and deflections late in the quarter to keep the game tied going into the second quarter.
Telluride got possession to start the second quarter and scored two quick goals, but senior Taylor Babcock had the response with a great face dodge and score from distance to make it 4-3 Telluride with 10 minutes left in the half.
Durango was playing some physical defense and was called for two yellow cards early. The Demons were causing turnovers left and right, but they were struggling to connect on their passes in the midfield, resulting in more scrums for ground balls and more Telluride possessions.
Outside shooting was really working for Durango in the second quarter. Babcock found the corner through some traffic, and Dingler had a beautiful side-release goal from distance to give Durango a 5-4 lead with six minutes left. Eaton’s speed in transition was the catalyst for these chances, as no one on the field could keep up with her. She had an easy finish off a Dingler finish for a 6-4 lead with six minutes left.
“You’ve got to take the shots and all my girls, we spend a lot of time shooting in practice, and I have all the confidence in the world of their shot selection,” Elliot said. “What I like the most is all of them … they're driving the ball, and when it gets shut down, rather than trying to fight through it, they back out and reestablish our offense. That's the hallmark of good ball control.”
Telluride responded with a 3-0 run over the next two minutes to retake the lead, forcing Elliot to call a timeout. The Miners did a great job of penetrating the Durango defense and finishing in a variety of ways. Telluride led 7-6 at the half.
Dingler scored first in the third quarter, but Telluride responded with a great dish and score to reestablish its one-goal lead. Telluride possessed the ball for most of the quarter, but Holden had a big stop, leading to an Eaton score to tie the game at eight with 3:50 left.
Telluride always seemed to have the response, finishing on a free shot 45 seconds later. Dingler had the counter punch with a close finish inside, and the game was tied at nine going into the fourth.
The Miners scored quickly to start the fourth quarter, but the Demons responded. Junior Teagan Frausto showed off her scoring ability with her two goals in the fourth. Dingler does a great job of being patient and of slithering around defenses and avoiding shooting space calls, and she scored to give Durango the lead with 4:23 left.
Durango’s defense stepped up in the final three minutes. Holden had multiple stops, senior Laurel Dondlinger had a key ground ball, and Dingler had a key steal that led to an Eaton breakaway goal.
“Our defense played extremely well,” Elliot said. “Telluride is really active on their attack with sending lots of cutters and driving the ball. My defense was doing a good job of communicating and we picked it up, even though it might not have been in their zone.”
Durango plays at Telluride on Saturday at 10 a.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
