Durango’s boys lacrosse team is on the cusp of becoming a winning team. With a stockpile of sophomores and juniors to go with very few seniors, Durango head coach John Robinette wants his guys to be tested against the best.
That’s exactly what happened Saturday morning at Durango High School, as the Demons played defending state champion and perennial lacrosse powerhouse Aspen.
After opening the season in Utah against high-class competition, the Demons (2-3) came home to beat Pueblo West earlier in the week and Vail Mountain on Friday. Matching up against what is most likely to be one of the best teams it will see all season, Durango got off to a very slow start Saturday, and that was enough for the Skiers to take command for a 9-4 win.
Junior midfielder Jeb Steigelman had two of Durango’s four goals, and Cullen Robinette recorded two assists. Kyle Robinette scored his team leading 13th goal in the loss and also corralled a whopping 14 groundballs.
“It might not have been the outcome we were hoping for, but I was proud at the effort we gave,” Durango head coach John Robinette said. “We knew we could play with them, but they came out with a high-pressure defense and really disrupted things early.”
Aspen (2-1) dominated the first half and completely controlled the first quarter with nine shots to just one from Durango. Freshman goalie Dylan Gaver was sharp early only allowing one goal in the first 10 minutes, but it was only a matter of time before the Skiers’ shots started finding net.
Aspen scored two goals in the last two minutes of the opening quarter and took off from there. Four second-quarter goals built a 6-0 halftime lead for Aspen.
Durango was a different squad in the second half, though.
Collin Barkley’s goal less than a minute into the third quarter put the Demons on the board, and good things started happening for Durango after seeing one go in.
Jeb Steigelman, one of three triplets on the Demons’ team, started finding space in front of the net, and his back-to-back third quarter goals pulled the Demons closer to 8-3.
“I was able to sit in the crease there, and Tommy (Rodgers) found me a couple times,” said Jeb Steigelman, son of Susan Furry and Jay Steigelman. “I got control of the passes and just ripped it a couple times past their goalie.”
The slow start put the Demons too far behind to make up the ground they needed to bring them close enough to make a difference, but progress was made with every passing minute.
Kyle Robinette’s team-leading 13th goal of the season closed out the scoring. His 14 ground balls led all players and he won 8-for-11 faceoffs.
“We put our best effort in for sure,” said Kyle Robinette, son of the coach and Tracy Robinette. “It was important because we proved that we can hang in there with anyone. There were some jitters to start, but we got settled in as the game went on and played them tough.”
R.J. Peshek, Jordan Horn and Burke Daily each had two goals to lead Aspen.
Durango will try to get back in the win column at 4 p.m. Wednesday as the Demons will host Sandia Prep.
jfries@durangoherald.com
