The Durango High School boys soccer team proved how many offensive weapons it has in a 5-2 win against 5A/4A Southwestern League rival Montrose on Saturday afternoon at Durango High School, as four different Demons found the back of the net.
With the win, the Demons have won seven matches in a row and have shown no signs of stopping.
Senior midfielder Logan Fullington likened the match and intensity to that of his favorite English Premier League team Manchester City.
“I am a (Manchester) City fan, so I like to think of this as my little ‘Durango Derby,’ and for us to finish out our games with them at our house with a performance like this, it was extra sweet,” Fullington said.
The Demons got going early with a goal in the fifth minute, as Fullington had his free kick find the top right corner of the net to give the Demons a 1-0 lead.
“I’ve struggled with scoring from free kicks all season, but I really just tried to look at the ball rather than place it in the goal,” Fullington said. “I hit it smoothly, and it happened to go in this time.”
Montrose (5-6, 2-2 SWL) found its way back into the match with a goal from Aiden Harrel in the 10th minute after he intercepted a back pass and fired it past Demons’ freshman goalkeeper Levi Larson to level the score at 1-1.
DHS head coach Aaron Champenoy was able to calm his team down, and the Demons responded in earnest.
“I thought as long as we stayed with what we were doing, we’d be fine,” Champenoy said. “Montrose is a team that likes to battle, and they’ve got a few good players, but I think we were much more organized and consistent and long as we do what we’re supposed to do, it took take care of itself.”
Ten minutes later, third-ranked Durango (11-1, 5-0 SWL) struck twice with goals from junior midfielder Leland Heinicke and senior midfielder Jack Beattie. Heinicke’s goal was fired past the 18-yard box and went into the bottom right corner of the net. Two minutes later, Montrose had a turnover deep on its end of the field, and Fullington was able to slot it to Beattie, who beat the goalkeeper in the top right corner of the net to give Durango a 3-1 lead.
In the second half, the Demons scored 10 minutes after the kickoff in the 50th minute with Beattie’s second goal of the game. Beattie received the ball on the far right flank and struck a rocket into the bottom right corner of the net to make it 4-1.
After the comfortable lead, the Demons sat back, and Montrose was able to get back into the match. In the 68th minute, Bryan Delgado took a nice touch and scored from the top of the 18-yard box to make it 4-2.
Champenoy thought Durango got complacent late and said they need to play the whole 80-minute match,
“Giving up two goals was frustrating for me,” Champenoy said. “I think we’re a good enough team that that game is no more than a one-goal game for us. We need to talk and communicate better, and I think we got really comfortable up 4-1 and we shut down for a good 15 minutes. We have some things we have to clean up, and we can’t take those little stints off, and I think some of that comes with maturity. We’re going to keep working them hard and get them ready for the postseason.”
Montrose’s goal was the energy that the Demons needed to finish off the game strong. In the 75th minute, Lance Townsend received a ball at the penalty spot six yards out and placed it past Montrose’s goalkeeper to make it 5-2.
Fullington said that the match was particularly important to set the tone for the remainder of the season.
“We treated this game like the first round of the playoffs,” Fullington said. “Montrose is a hard-working team, and we’ve been playing them since the DYSA days, and for us to come out with five goals against our rivals, it was a really nice win, especially as a senior.”
Durango will take on Grand Junction Central at 11 a.m. Saturday.
bploen@durangoherald.com
