Making an effort to play competition from the Front Range, the Durango Demons and Pueblo West Cyclones agreed to meet somewhere in the middle Wednesday.
The Durango High School boys lacrosse team traveled to Adams State University in Alamosa to take on a previously unbeaten Pueblo West squad. The Demons had lost both of their two opening games in Utah but got it going Wednesday in a 15-9 victory.
“I felt like we had more fire going,” DHS head coach John Robinette said. “I saw some improvement, and we didn’t have as many unforced turnovers, and defensively we stepped it up and were tighter on our marks.”
Staying out of the penalty box was big, too. After struggling with fouls in the first two games, Durango committed only two. Pueblo West committed seven penalties, and Durango scored on five of those man-up opportunities.
Kyle Robinette had another big game with three goals, five assists and a team-high 12 groundballs. His little brother Cullen Robinette, a freshman, also scored three goals on four shots.
DHS senior Oaken Oles also had three goals and one assist, and juniors Collin Barkley and Jackson Steigelman each had two goals. Steigelman also added three assists.
In his first game with the Demons, sophomore Tommy Rodgers scored a goal and dished out one assist. Jeb Steigelman also had a goal.
Easton Verduzco, a junior midfielder, has established a presence by winning faceoffs. He won 14-of-20 on Wednesday.
DHS dominated in all phases, claiming 49 groundballs to Pueblo West’s 24. DHS also fired 31 shots to 18 for the Cyclones.
Freshman goalkeeper Dylan Gaver made four saves and allowed four goals in 40 minutes for Durango.
Durango will open the home schedule this weekend with a 4 p.m. Friday matchup against Vail Mountain before hosting defending champion Aspen on Saturday.
“I think we have some momentum now,” coach Robinette said. “We will look for a good practice (Thursday), rest some guys and come out with two hard games at home this weekend.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
