The Durango boys soccer team will be pretty young this season, but the team still has its sights set high because they know how to work well together.
Eight seniors graduated from last year’s team, which went 7-1-2 in a shortened season, and the majority were pretty significant contributors.
“We graduated a really good senior class,” said head coach Aaron Champenoy. “We’re pretty young, sophomore and junior heavy, but we still have high expectations.”
Goalkeeper Fred Reiter, who allowed only three goals last year and was the only goalie to earn all-league honors, returns for Durango. He will be aided by the return of the team’s defense, including center back Nick Korte.
With a program that trains pretty much year-round, playing indoor soccer and futsal and lifting weights in the off-season, lots of other Demons are ready to step up.
“When we spend more time together we get better together,” Korte said.
Playing well as a unit, and not just well individually, will be one of its strengths this year.
“Learning the team is more important than learning a technical skill because you have to know your teammates to make good decisions,” said senior midfielder Ryan Bell.
“It’s going really well,” Reiter said. “I feel we made a lot of progress over the summer.”
Reiter said the key to doing well this year will be “playing as a team because we have good team chemistry.”
The Demons start their season Friday at Battle Mountain, the top-ranked team most of last year, and then play at Glenwood Springs Saturday.
“I’m looking forward to our first game Friday against Battle Mountain,” Reiter said. “It’s a challenge, but will set the tone for the rest of the season. It will show us our skill gap, if we have one, and we’ll see where we are and improve from there.”
“I hope our team becomes stronger,” Bell said. “Battle Mountain is one of the best teams in the state, but we still plan on taking that ‘W.’”
After losing to Battle Mountain as a freshman, Reiter said he was looking for some revenge.
The coach said the team has some “unfinished business” in the Southwestern League as well. Last season, Durango split its series with Montrose, but a pair of ties against Fruita Monument helped Montrose win the league. With only 16 teams making the state playoffs, and 15 league champions, Durango missed the postseason last year.
“We know to control our own destiny we need to win the league,” Champenoy said. “We’ll learn from the top teams early on; our out-of-league schedule is pretty tough to prepare us.”
Reiter said a personal goal is to end the year with no goals scored against him. “I’m excited to test myself and see where I am,” the goalie said.
The rest of his team also has some lofty goals. “Obviously we’re going for that state title,” Bell said. “We definitely plan on making it past the second round of the playoffs.”
Offensively, however, the team lost its leading scorer and most of its forwards so it will need some new players to step up.
“We’ll have to find a way to generate goals,” Champenoy said. “It’s going to be a journey this year; we need to be our own toughest competition everyday in practice.”
Just being able to play a normal season and have the opportunity to compete, however, is a relief for the team.
“I’m just happy to be back out,” Champenoy said. “I’m excited to be back and show people we’re back to where we were.”
colivas@durangoherald.com
