After a 0-3 start to the season, the Durango High School girls soccer team is rolling. The Demons have won six consecutive games, including wins against Grand Junction and Grand Junction Central on Saturday.
The Demons improved to 6-3 overall and 5-0 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League after those two games. Durango played two games on Saturday because of the weather.
“I was extremely proud of them,” Durango girls soccer head coach Zac Keeler said. “They're used to playing multiple games in a weekend with their club teams. But high school is a little bit different at times. We discussed our options on Friday and they stepped up and said they wanted to play both games in one day. So, all around, everyone had great performances.”
On Saturday, starting at 9 a.m., the Demons took on Grand Junction and won 3-1. Grand Junction fell to 4-3-3 overall and 2-3-2 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League.
Durango struck first in the 12th minute with a goal from sophomore Ellis Campbell, assisted by senior Bella Saren. Campbell earned the woman of the match
Keeler said Campbell dominated the right side with her offense and defense. She stopped the Tigers from playing through that side and was responsible for a lot of Durango’s offensive chances. Grand Junction really sold out to stop the Demons from playing through the middle of the field in the first half, according to Keeler.
The Demons went into halftime up 1-0 before senior Peyton Cioppa put the Demons up 2-0 in the 57th minute. The Tigers responded with a goal in the 58th minute to make it 2-1 before senior Lauren McClellan responded a minute later from about 35 minutes out for a 3-1 lead.
A few hours later, the Demons dominated Grand Junction Central 10-0, ending the game via mercy rule after 56 minutes. The Warriors fell to 1-9 overall and 0-7 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League.
Durango scored six goals in the first 25 minutes and led 8-0 at halftime. Saren scored the final goal in the 56th minute. She was the woman of the match, leading Durango with four goals.
McClellan, Campbell, junior Josie Phare, senior Emma Hyder, sophomore Lila Scherer-Sickler and freshman Alyza Griego each scored for the Demons.
Keeler had the chance to empty his bench and get some JV players some varsity playing time.
One of Keeler’s favorite moments of the weekend was watching sisters Gracie and Lilly Fitzpatrick and Emma and Hannah Hyder share the field together
Sophomore goalkeeper Simone Kelly filled in for junior Ryne Neiman, who was away from the team, for both games and finished with two saves.
The Demons played Palisade at home at 5 p.m. on Tuesday night and won 2-0.
Baseball has statement win at Grand Junction
The Durango baseball team had arguably its best win of the season on Saturday with a wild 9-8 win over Grand Junction.
Grand Junction entered the game 11-4 and got off to a stellar start, leading 8-0 after three innings. The Demons had the response; Durango scored a run in the fourth, two runs in the fifth and five runs in the sixth to tie the game 8-8 heading into the seventh.
All of a sudden, the scoring stopped and the teams went into extra innings. The Demons scored the winning run in the ninth inning for the improbable win.
Freshman Cole Clark led the Demons with three hits and sophomore Duncan Walsh had two.
Durango junior Austin Romero pitched four innings and allowed three hits while throwing two strikeouts. Sophomore Coen Anderson pitched three innings, allowing three hits and throwing a strikeout. Junior Sam Clark pitched two innings and allowed seven hits.
The two teams matched up again on Saturday, with the Demons losing 17-15. Individual stats for Durango and an inning-by-inning box score were unavailable.
Durango moved to 10-4 overall and 3-1 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League after the two games. Grand Junction moved to 12-5 overall and 3-1 in the 4A/5A Southwestern League.
Girls tennis dominates at Pueblo West
The Durango girls tennis got back into the win column, beating Pueblo West 7-0 on Friday.
Durango improved to 4-5 overall with the win.
Demons No. 1 singles player junior Jordan Kitchens won her match in two sets, 6-4, 6-2. Sophomore No. 2 singles player Natalie Christensen won her match in two sets for Durango 6-2, 6-1. Durango No. 3 singles player senior Rose Hinds won her match in two sets, 6-0, 6-0.
In doubles, Durango’s No. 1 pairing of freshman Ella Claasen and senior Molly Best won in two sets, 6-1, 6-2. Durango No. 2 doubles pairing of senior McKenzie Hayden and junior Madelyn Agre won in two sets, 6-3, 6-3.
The lone match to go three sets was in No. 3 doubles. Durango seniors McCartney Thibodeau and Lucy Flores lost the first set 6-4 but bounced back to win set two 6-3 and set three 10-6.
Durango’s No. 4 doubles pairing of sophomore Annabeth Hanson and senior Mary Jane Ramos won their match in two sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Boys lacrosse loses two games to Fruita Monument
The Demons boys lacrosse team dropped two games on the road to Fruita Monument on Saturday, 20-8 and 12-8.
Durango has now lost five consecutive games and is 2-7 overall and 2-5 in the 4A Mountain League. Fruita improved to 8-3 overall and 4-2 in the 4A Mountain League.
Fruita led 8-3 at halftime of the first game and increased that lead to 15-7.
Senior JT Munger had two goals and four assists for Durango. Demons senior Owen Muraro led Durango’s scoring efforts with four goals. Sophomore Logan Muraro finished with two goals.
Durango senior goaltender Alex Gnehm had 22 saves.
In the second game, Durango trailed 3-2 after the first quarter and 8-4 at halftime. Fruita extended its lead to 10-5 after three quarters.
Owen Muraro led the Demons with three goals. Logan Muraro and junior Henry Huff each had two goals while Munger finished with a goal and three assists. Gnehm finished with 21 saves.
The Demons play at Montrose on Thursday at 4 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
