Only one goal separated the Durango High School girls soccer team from Mullen on Saturday in the second round of the Class 4A state tournament.

Unfortunately for the Demons, No. 8 Mullen escaped with a 3-2 victory over No. 9 Durango.

“It’s a tough loss,” said DHS head coach Melissa Halonen. “We just came up a little short.”

The coach said the Demons came out in the first half and had the majority of possession. Mullen, however, ended up scoring the game’s first goal. Not long after, DHS answered. Ava McClellan assisted Sarah Somrak to tie the contest, 1-1.

The Mustangs then took the lead back to take a 2-1 advantage into halftime. With about 15 minutes left, Mullen added a third goal.

“We continued to play our game and possess (the ball), but they got a counter goal,” Halonen said.

DHS kept fighting and Bella Saren scored a late goal to make the score 3-2. DHS, however, couldn’t find the equalizer.

“We pressed and had a couple more opportunities, but we couldn’t capitalize,” Halonen said.

The coach said the game was similar to their latest contest with Fruita Monument when DHS had a majority of the possession, but lost by one goal.

“Their shots were really close to the goal,” Halonen said. “They were all within six yards; we just couldn’t get them cleared.”

The loss ends Durango’s season with a 10-5 overall record, which doesn’t include a couple of games that had to be canceled early in the season because of weather.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Halonen said. “They never gave up and continued to play the style we wanted to play. We’ll build off it for next year, but overall we had a good season.”

Mullen will next face top-seeded Lutheran in the quarterfinals.