Tied atop the league standings with Fruita Monument, the Durango High School girls soccer team wanted to keep pace Thursday before Friday’s critical showdown with the Wildcats.
With a 4-0 lead and a lightning delay pausing the match with less than eight minutes to play in the first half, the Durango Demons were anxious to get back on the field. Fruita Monument already owned a 10-0 win this year against the Grand Junction Central Warriors, and DHS wanted to match that to keep up with Fruita in terms of goal differential if the league title comes down to a tiebreaker.
So when play resumed, DHS head coach Melissa Halonen urged her team to score as much as it could before halftime with the possibility of the game being called off early because of the inclement weather. In a little more than seven minutes of play, the Demons scored three times.
DHS (6-0-1, 4-0-1, 5A/4A Southwestern League) would add one more score in the second half to secure an 8-0 win against the Warriors (1-6, 0-5 SWL).
“We were shooting for that 10-0 because we are so neck-and-neck with Fruita as league leaders,” Halonen said. “Now, they’re two goals up on us in differential, but we can’t complain. The girls did everything we asked and kept it a shutout through the lightning delays. We were really worried we would only get through the first half, so we changed our formation to be more attacking oriented and got those three more goals.”
Clara Krull scored three times for DHS, and Riley Campbell scored two. Maddy McManus, Kyle Rowland and Emma Duke each scored once.
Now, the Demons will turn around quickly to host the Wildcats (5-0-1, 4-0-1 SWL) at 5 p.m. Friday. The game was originally slated for Saturday, but a home track and field meet for DHS pushed the game up one day on the calendar, causing a tight turnaround for the biggest match of the season.
DHS went on the road to face Fruita on May 14 and tied 1-1.
“This is the match that is going to determine whether we win the league and get that easier route into the playoffs as a champion,” Halonen said. “It’s going to be the most competitive game of the season. The girls are excited. We thought about just resting girls tonight, but the girls all wanted to maintain pace with Fruita and try to score as many as we could. They want to do everything possible to go to the next level. From the players on the field to the girls on the bench, everyone is invested in every minute of the game.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
