The 5A/4A Southwestern League champion Durango girls soccer team was awarded with the No. 9 seed in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s 4A Girls Soccer State Championships.
The soccer brackets and opening-round matchups were announced by CHSAA Sunday morning. Durango is scheduled to host No. 24 Cañon City Wednesday at DHS. The game time has not been determined.
Durango was ranked as high as fifth in recent weeks, but numerous losses by other Southwestern League teams affected the Demons’ RPI. The DHS opponents’ winning percentage dropped, which led to a drop in the rankings and placed the Demons in a tough quadrant.
“I think that drop put us in the hardest region,” Durango High School head coach Dalon Parker said. “It’s always an honor to be in the top 10, though. Since I’ve been here, I think CHSAA has done the right thing for us every year. Our league makes it tough to get ranked much higher than that.”
Other teams in the quadrant include last year’s runner-up and this year’s top team No. 1 Valor Christian (13-1) along with a No. 8 Mullen (10-8-1) squad that made it to the 2016 semifinals. If the Demons win Wednesday, they’ll play either Mullen or No. 25 Palmer Ridge (7-8). Valor Christian opens with No. 32 Conifer (9-6) and the winner will play the victor between No. 16 Glenwood Springs (11-4) and No. 17 Pueblo Centennial (11-4).
Wheat Ridge got the tournament’s second seed. No. 3 Lewis-Palmer, No. 4 D’Evelyn and The Classical Academy round out the top five.
DHS will look to improve on last year’s disappointing first-round 1-0 loss at home to Littleton.
“Our motto this time is ‘pressure is a privilege,’” Parker said. “If you have an opportunity that brings on pressure, it usually means you’re doing something right to get in that situation. The recent history of this program has been a few good teams that got decent seeds and choked.”
This time, though, Parker expects a different outcome. His Demons are on a roll heading into the playoffs. The girls won four in a row and 10 of the last 11 games to secure the league title.
Durango has a well-rounded offense led by junior Taylor Klone’s seven goals. Senior Lane Arnwine was right behind with six and led the team with 17 points. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Badgley has been outstanding behind center back Autumn Stevens and a stout Demons defense that allowed just 20 goals this season.
They’ll all need to be in good form to stop the high-powered offense their first round opponents will bring to town.
The Cañon City Tigers (11-3-1, 6-1-1 Colorado Springs Metro) outscored opponents 67-26 this season and, just like the Demons, come into the playoffs playing good soccer.
The team’s last loss was an April 6, 9-1 setback against No. 5 seed The Classical Academy. Since then, the Tigers are 9-0-1 in a torrid stretch of play in which they have outscored opponents 58-6.
Cañon City is led by a duo of underclassmen with sophomore Macy French and freshman Jerika Moore. French leads the team with 14 goals and Moore is right behind with 12. The Tigers have five players who scored six or more goals and the team has scored five or more goals in eight of its 14 games this season.
The only common opponent Durango and Cañon City played during the season was Pueblo West. Cañon City lost to the Cyclones 4-1, but the Demons came out on top 2-1.
“When you play these teams from the front range, you have to be ready for a fight,” Parker said. “I think this group is different for us. I think they’re ready to embrace the big stage and handle the pressure this time around.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
