It was clear the Durango High School boys soccer team would score in bunches Tuesday night. The question was when it would start.
After the Demons (9-4) peppered Aztec (6-11) with 12 shots but only with two on target in the opening 10 minutes, it was Braden Lyons who cracked the seal on goal in the 14th minute for Durango. It was fitting Lyons would score the first, as he had narrowly missed an opening-minute goal after he got his right foot on a perfect crossing pass from Sayer Frontella. Once Lyons and the Demons found the initial score, a slurry of goals ensued in a 8-0 victory during homecoming week for DHS.
“We had to set the tone at some point early on our home turf,” Lyons said. “As soon as we got started scoring, it came one after another.”
The onslaught could have been worse without the effort of Aztec goalkeepers, who made double-digit saves in the match, including several early long-range blasts from the Demons from outside the box.
Durango’s next score came in the 25th minute, again off a Bell corner. This time, he passed it back to Logan Stetler, who played a long crossing pass into the box 40 yards out from the goal. Frontella got his head on the ball and flicked it home to make it 2-0.
It was another corner kick that set up the third goal for DHS. This time, Stetler ripped one into the box, and A.J. Carlson blasted a shot off his right foot to make it 3-0 in the 37th minute.
“For the amount of time we spend working on those set pieces in practice, it shows in games,” Lyons said. “We are grateful we can put those together in games.”
Cedar Newman got in the action moments later, as he fought hard against a defender at the top of the box before he got a clean look at goal and blasted a right-footed shot for a 38th-minute goal.
The Demons weren’t done in the first half. Another corner kick led to a header goal for Leland Heinicke in the 40th minute. Heinicke had been denied on a few blasts earlier in the half but wouldn’t be stopped on the close-range header.
“I think you saw a little bit of what we do with a few different options on corners,” said DHS head coach Aaron Champenoy. “We’ve done pretty well with that this year, especially with a big target like Leland in there. If we can get him open in the box on a set piece, we should be alright.”
DHS would hold that 5-0 lead going into the second half thanks to midfield play that suffocated any hopeful Aztec attack. The Tigers were held without a shot in the opening 40 minutes despite a free kick from striking range followed by a corner kick in the 39th minute. The Tigers rarely possessed the ball without being immediately run off it by an aggressive Durango side. That was the plan for a Demons team that lost a tough 4-3 overtime match Saturday against a different Tigers team in Grand Junction.
“Grand Junction I thought fought harder than us in the last game,” Champenoy said. “That was one of the keys coming into this game was to get the fight back, win 50-50 balls and hopefully carry that momentum into the next two games.”
It didn’t take the Demons long to score in the second half. A pass across the face of goal from Frontella found the foot of Moritz Rosik in the 47th minute, and Rosik struck it home for a goal. Only moments later, a Heinicke blast was saved, but Lyons collected the rebound and calmly scored his second goal of the match to make it 7-0.
Aztec finally had its first shot in the 51st minute, as David Miller took a crack at a free kick from 30 yards out. He hit a beautiful strike, but the ball narrowly sailed over the corner of the goal frame and didn’t require a save. Durango goalkeeper Johannes Huge needed to make only two saves in the entire match.
The Demons tacked on one more goal in the 71st minute. This time it was Evan Donovan who cleaned up a loose ball in front of the Aztec goal.
At 4-2 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League, the Demons still have league championship hopes but will need to win both remaining home games to close the regular season. First up is Fruita Monument (6-5, 2-3 SWL) at 1 p.m. Saturday before a huge showdown with league-leader Montrose (7-5, 4-1 SWL) at 6 p.m. Oct. 25. Montrose’s lone league loss this season came at the hands of Durango, 4-3 back on Sept. 25 in Montrose.
“Hopefully, since one of our losses was to Fruita on the road, that should get our guys going as a bit of a revenge factor, and we gotta get a win,” Champenoy said. “It’s a must-win game for us.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
