Games between the Durango High School and Grand Junction High School girls lacrosse teams have been close lately, and Durango’s 14-12 home win on Friday night was another example of that.
The Demons and the Tigers were involved in a classic back-and-forth matchup under the lights where the biggest lead of the game was three goals. Momentum changed multiple times between the teams, but it was the Demons, which had momentum last, thanks to their defense.
Durango’s four-headed monster on offense of senior Taylor Babcock, juniors Indie Eaton and Teagan Frausto and freshman Janelle Dingler powered the Durango offense all night.
However, the Demons’ defense forced the Tigers into poor long passes which became turnovers. The Demons had some precise stick checks down the stretch and junior goalie Jody Holden had some big saves as the Demons moved to 4-0 for the first time in 14 years.
“I couldn't be happier with how the girls played,” Durango head coach Eric Elliot said. “We left it all out there, so it was great to see Jody, when we needed her the most, she stood up every time. I couldn't be happier with that. We played smart the whole game.”
Durango’s 4-0 overall record and 3-0 record in the 4A Mountain West League are the best starts to the season for the Demons in Elliot’s tenure as head coach.
Babcock led the Demons with four goals and two assists. Frausto also had four goals, and Eaton had three. Dingler finished with three goals, one assist and a team-high four ground balls.
“When you have that many people who can score at will, it's pretty hard to defend,” Elliot said. “Once you shut down one, we have somebody else. The really nice thing is the four of them spend a lot of time looking for the assist, too.”
Grand Junction dropped to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in the 4A Mountain West League. Junior Alexis Campbell led the Tigers with five goals.
Grand Junction scored first off a nice catch and shot by freshman Scarlett Roberts with 10:25 left. The Demons responded by causing a turnover, and Dingler had a nice ground ball in front of goal and finish to tie the game at 1 with 7:20 left in the first. Dingler then had a great dish to an open Babcock, who finished in style in front of cage for the 2-1 lead with 5:54 left.
The Demons did a great job of causing turnovers by knocking down passes in the first quarter. Durango had possession for most of the first quarter, and that paid off with a goal by Eaton with 2:46 left in the first. Grand Junction had the response with a great bounce shot to tie the game at three going into the second quarter.
Second-quarter action started with a rarity: a deflected goal. Dingler tried to catch a ball in front of the goal. Instead, she poked it between the goalie’s legs for the 4-3 lead with 11:26 left in the second.
After Dingler’s goal, Grand Junction took advantage of a failed clear to tie the game. Durango then scored three of the next four goals, one in transition and one with the set offense, to take a 7-5 lead. The Demons were doing a great job getting ground balls and winning draws to fuel their offense. Holden also stepped up to save a free shot. Durango took an 8-5 lead with 1:15 left in the half after a great quick pass from Eaton to Frausto for a quick-stick finish in front of the net.
Grand Junction came out on fire to start the third quarter, essentially playing make-it take-it after scoring its first goal. Roberts had three goals from close range as the Tigers scord four goals in the first four minutes to lead 9-8 with 8:18 left, forcing an Elliot timeout.
In the timeout, Elliot pointed out that the Tigers had run the same double pick and roll with a decoy for three of those goals, and he had to coach up some of his younger defenders.
The Demons finally responded thanks to a caused turnover by senior Laurel Dondlinger. Frausto re-tied the game at nine with 6:20 left with a nice bounce shot. Durango retook the lead with an outside shot by Dingler, but Roberts responded. Babcock had the final response of the quarter, giving Durango an 11-10 lead going into the fourth in part because of some strong Holden saves late in the quarter.
Before the start of the fourth quarter, Babcock was honored for passing 100 points in her career with an assist in the third quarter.
“She's been huge,” Elliot said about Babcock. “She started off as a freshman full of attitude, and now she's a senior. She still has a little bit of attitude, but she's got a lot of wisdom to go behind it. She's a good leader on the team, and she's the measure of consistency.”
It was a back and forth game in the fourth until the Tigers struggled to play clean lacrosse, turning it over with long, inaccurate passes. The Demons didn’t make any mistakes, and Babcock’s goal with 3:42 left gave the Demons the cushion they needed to take victory.
Elliot was happy with how his team played smart lacrosse by slowing the game down with the lead and chewing the clock by playing catch.
The two teams face off again on Saturday at 1 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
