The Durango High School girls lacrosse team let one slip away in Friday’s senior day matchup with Fruita Monument.
The Demons (4-11, 1-6 Mountain League) led 5-2 at halftime behind four first-half goals from Kiara Valley but couldn’t hold the lead in the second half as the visiting Wildcats scored seven goals in a 9-minute second-half stretch to pull off a 9-8 comeback win.
Valley led the Demons with five goals in the last game of the season. Joie Raybourn scored twice and led the team with seven ground balls and three draw controls. Greta Cahill also scored for Durango, and Grace Weaver grabbed four ground balls in the loss.
“It’s disappointing because the girls played so well for the majority of the game,” Durango girls lacrosse head coach Jeff Einfalt said. “To lose it like that, in the last 15 minutes, was a tough way to finish. We’ve had a few games like this where we get ahead and get overconfident. Once the other team takes the momentum, it’s tough to get it back.”
Fruita started the game with some momentum, as they scored twice in the game’s first five minutes. Raybourn’s first goal got the Demons on the board and Valley’s offensive explosion allowed the hosts to take command. She scored the next five DHS goals and Durango led 6-3 early in the second half.
That’s when the Wildcats had an offensive outburst of their own.
Fruita scored four goals in less than two minutes midway through the second half to get back into the game. They added two more shortly after to give the visitors a two-goal lead.
Cahill scored with a little under 10 minutes remaining, but Fruita possessed the clock away and the Demons couldn’t convert on the few late chances they had.
Durango High School seniors Naomi Huffman-Wood, Laura Lewis, Kylee “Dyno” Shilaikis and Ashley Warren were honored after the game.
“We started off the season with kind of a rough patch I guess you could call it,” Shilaikis said. “We really came together as one full team.”
Huffman-Wood was appreciative of the coaching staff for leading the group in the right direction.
“I think we had really strong leadership and our coaches were really awesome,” she said. “We were a really new team at the beginning of year, but they guided us in the right direction and we became a pretty strong team.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
