The Durango High School girls lacrosse team rode a heavy dose of passion and intensity to a league win against Eagle Valley on Thursday afternoon at DHS Stadium.
The Demons and Devils battled back and forth with physical and aggressive play throughout the match and traded goals almost the entire way before DHS scored twice late in regulation to secure a 7-4 victory.
“We came out with intensity and played with intensity in both halves,” DHS head coach Natalie Mitchell said. “Everybody is healthy, so now we have a lot of subs, which allows us to work really hard when we’re in and have some time to rest. We’re working in shifts, which is really keeping that intensity up, and the girls are working hard.”
While the Demons had nearly its full roster ready for the match, Eagle Valley, out of Gypsum, was limited by injuries and only had a handful of substitutes available.
“I’m definitely proud of my team for sticking with it,” Eagle Valley head coach Hannah McKee said. “I think it was competitive and a little messy on both sides, aggressive and physical. For my girls, I’m proud of them for sticking with it and working hard until the end.”
Durango (3-8, 2-3 Mountain League) took an early 1-0 lead with a goal from Bryn Valdez 3 minutes, 11 seconds into the first half, but Eagle Valley (2-6, 1-2 ML) answered only 48 seconds later when Haley Carpenter found the net.
Durango put pressure on the Devils with its attack in the first half and held possession in Eagle Valley’s defensive half of the field for long stretches. During the half, the Demons had several shots on goal but struggled to convert.
With a little less than six minutes remaining in the first half, the Demons stole possession deep in their defensive territory and scored when Kiara Valley made a long run and beat Eagle Valley’s goalie to make it 2-1 DHS with 5:26 to go before halftime.
Valley added one more goal with 1:56 remaining that sent the game to halftime with the Demons in front 3-1.
“Their defense was really good, I’ll give them that,” Valley said of the Devils’ defense, “but having my teammates out there to help me and always have my back was definitely good to have.”
Durango pushed its lead to 4-1 less than three minutes into the second half with a goal from Gwyneth Irwin before a scoring spree broke out between the two teams, which combined for three goals in fewer than two minutes.
With 17:45 remaining in the game, Carpenter scored for Eagle Valley to make it 4-2. Then, 39 seconds later, Valley found Grace Weaver in front of goal for DHS. A little more than a minute later, Eagle Valley scored on a goal from Carley Beckum, which made it a 5-3 game with 15:58 remaining.
The Devils got the deficit to one goal when Sophia Rinn scored with 9:01 remaining to make it 5-4.
“It was definitely an intense moment,” Valley said of the lead being cut to one goal. “In that position where it’s one goal and then it’s tied, we’ve been in that position numerous times, but we always work together as a team, keep our heads up and get ahead of it again.”
A goal from senior Joie Raybourn with 4:58 remaining, then a third goal from Valley with less than two minutes remaining put the game away for the Demons.
“I was really proud of the girls,” Mitchell said. “Right after (Eagle Valley’s) goal, they worked really hard to get the ball back, and it kind of lit a fire under their butts instead of making them give up. After the other team scored a goal, we did a really good job coming back and working hard and taking care of the ball.”
Durango will be back at home to host Telluride (0-3, 0-0 ML) on Tuesday at DHS.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
