Playing at home for the first time this season, the Durango Demons had a similar result to their six previous road games.
Durango High School (0-7, 0-4 Mountain League) dropped its girls lacrosse home opener 9-8 to Battle Mountain (5-2, 4-1 ML) on Friday at DHS Stadium.
“It was a back-and-forth game the entire way,” DHS head coach Jenni Darlow said. “We feel good about some things, but we also feel like if we would have played the way we are capable of, we easily could’ve won.”
Jessie Sutherlin had three goals to lead the Demons’ attack. Tymbree Hawkins scored two, as did Alyssa Swan. Angela Grogan chipped in the other DHS goal.
The Demons jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but it was Battle Mountain who secured a 5-4 lead at halftime.
“Those nine goals scored in the first half all came in about a 9-minute stretch in the middle of the first half,” Darlow said. “Both teams just kept firing at each other.”
DHS twice took a one-goal lead in the second half, but it was Battle Mountain who scored a go-ahead goal with six minutes left in the game.
“Those last six minutes, they maintained possession a lot and did a really good job hanging onto the ball,” Darlow said.
DHS had one chance to tie it in the final 12 seconds of the game. Abby Jackson intercepted the ball and passed it up the field to Kelsey Pool.
“Pool sprinted her heart out and got leveled with half a second left. They called a penalty, and we got a shot, but it wasn’t from an ideal position for a right-handed shooter,” Darlow said. “She had a good shot but couldn’t put in the tying goal.”
Megan Pope made five saves in goal for DHS, and Darlow credited her defense for playing a strong game as the Demons struggled to control possession and keep the ball away from Battle Mountain.
“We weren’t great on groundballs or catching passes. Being cleaner on those things would’ve made a huge difference,” Darlow said.
DHS will try for its first win of the season against Steamboat Springs (1-5, 1-3 ML) at 11 a.m. Saturday.
heraldsports@durangoherald.com
