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Durango boys soccer, Bayfield boys soccer receive playoff matchups

Demons have a home game while Wolverines hit the road
Mavrick Rodriguez of High School strikes one of his two goals against Grand Junction at DHS earlier this season. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Durango boys soccer coach Sean Ackerman had a goal at the beginning of the season of being a top-eight seed in the 4A state playoffs. The Demons came up one seed short when the 4A state playoff bracket came out on Monday.

No. 9 Durango plays No. 24 George Washington at Durango High School on Thursday at 4 p.m. Getting a top-eight seed would’ve guaranteed Durango two home games.

“To be at nine, it's not a huge disappointment,” Ackerman said. “But I definitely think that the last couple of ties against Grand Junction and Montrose contributed to that. If we were able to get a result toward the end, we probably would have crept up a spot or two. But the important thing is having a solid season, getting into playoffs and then being able to perform. We're in a good spot right now.”

Ackerman has been planning to face George Washington since Sunday. The Patriots out of Denver are 6-5-4 overall and 2-1-1 in the 4A City League. Ackerman said he likes the matchup for the Demons since Durango moves the ball and presses well.

George Washington likes to play the ball behind the opposing defense and let its forwards run onto the ball. While this was an issue for the Demons earlier in the season, Ackerman is confident in his back line’s improvement.

Durango will still be without junior Benji Masterson, who broke his collarbone a few weeks ago. Luckily, senior midfielder Cooper Gray will return after missing about half the season with an injury.

In the last two seasons, the Demons have only won one playoff game. Ackerman said this team is poised for a deeper run because of the work rate the team has put in. He said playoff games can come down to outworking the opponent and he thinks his team has the tools to do that.

For the third year in a row, the Bayfield boys soccer squad will hit the road for a first-round matchup in the 3A state playoffs. This year, the No. 24 Wolverines will head to New Castle to face No. 9 Coal Ridge on Thursday at 2 p.m.

“We were hoping to be higher than that,” Bayfield boys soccer head coach Chris Zoltowski said. “We had a couple of games this season that we were short, whether it be from a free kick or a PK. That cost us, we expected to be higher, but I think it's going to make the boys a lot more hungry next year.”

Coal Ridge finished 9-4-2 overall and 4-1-2 in the 3A Western Slope League. Zoltowski said the Titans move the ball well and are fast after making it to the state finals last year.

After failing to pull an upset the last two years, Zoltowski said he’s put more of a focus on big game moments to prepare the team’s nerves for those big moments and give the Wolverines a better chance to win.

bkelly@durangoherald.com