The word dominant may not aptly describe Durango High School girls lacrosse’s performance against St. Mary’s Academy on Tuesday.
No. 9 seed Durango overwhelmed No. 23 St. Mary’s Academy from the opening draw and never looked back as the Demons cruised to a 20-4 victory in the first round of the 4A state playoffs at Durango High School.
St. Mary’s Academy had no chance against Durango’s speed, draw control, passing and shooting. The Wildcats couldn’t not get the ball and it looked like they could barely see it with how fast and precisely Durango connected passes and shots.
When the Wildcats did get the ball, Durango made some precise stick checks and senior goalie Fiona Chandler made some nice stops. The running clock started in the second quarter and Durango could’ve easily scored 30+ goals if it hadn’t taken its foot off the gas by emptying its bench and playing more conservatively.
“Our pregame speech was, ‘I want to see you guys scoring early and often,”’ Durango head coach Eric Elliot said. “They took me seriously so that was nice to see. Most of those goals were assisted and some of them were really nice assists. I couldn't be happier with the unselfish play. It almost looked like everybody, at one point, was looking for the assist rather than the goal. At this stage of the season, that's a really nice thing to have.”
Durango improved to 11-3 overall with the win. Senior Silvie Bosmans had five goals and three assists, leading the Demons. Sophomore Teagan Frausto had five goals and senior Sofia Naffziger had four goals and two assists. Sophomore Indie Eaton had three goals in the first six minutes, breaking a school record for fastest hat trick. Chandler finished with three saves for the Demons.
St. Mary’s Academy finished its season 5-10 overall.
Both teams struggled to pass and catch early on in the slippery conditions. In a game that can be predicated on speed, Eaton has it and more. She scooped a ground ball around midfield and sped away from the other midfielders like she had a boost button.
Eaton left a St. Mary’s Academy defender in the dust, shot low and scored. Durango led 1-0 with 10:12 left in the first.
The Demons added two goals quickly after that. Durango moved the ball well and Naffziger finished inside. Eaton used her speed to score 20 seconds later and the Demons led 3-0 with 7:46 left in the first.
St. Mary’s goalie made a nice save on a close-range shot that led to a breakaway for the Wildcats. No one stopped the Wildcat midfielder but Chandler stood strong and made a kick save to keep the clean sheet. A few minutes later, Chandler made another great stop after St. Mary’s won the draw and tried to take it for the score.
After the Demons increased their advantage, Wildcats’ India Phoenix found room inside and scored around the crease to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Durango responded with speed to create a fast break chance. With a three-on-two advantage, Naffziger got the ball at the crease and finished her one-on-one opportunity.
Only 15 seconds later, Bosmans won the draw and scored for a 6-1 advantage with 3:16 left.
Durango led 8-2 after the first; senior Willa Anderson had the final goal of the quarter.
“We really pushed the fast break,” Elliot said. “If the fast breaks not there, we try to spread it around a little bit. Even though the fast break was there, the girls started looking for the assist over everything else. At least from my viewpoint, it was really pretty lacrosse.”
The Demons started the second quarter with two goals in the first two minutes. Bosmans finished off a free shot and Naffziger scored inside for a 10-2 lead with 9:50 left.
Bosmans did a stellar job with the draws, winning possession after possession for the Demons. Durango continued to dominate, moving the ball at warp speed for easy shots and goals.
Durango’s conditioning seemed to start paying off at the end of the second quarter. After being on defense for almost the entire quarter, St. Mary’s defenders looked tired and even slower than before.
A running clock started at the end of the second quarter and Durango led 16-3 at halftime.
The Demons played their entire bench in the second half and weren’t as aggressive with the massive lead; Durango had 20 goals after three quarters.
Durango plays at Aspen High School against Aspen in the second round of the 4A state playoffs on Thursday at 6 p.m.
No. 8-seeded Aspen finished the regular season 10-5 overall and 5-5 in the 4A Mountain East League. Durango lost to Aspen last season, 9-8.
“They beat the brakes off us the first few times we played them,” Elliot said. “Then last year, we went almost the whole game tied and we lost … that's the most competitive game we've had against Aspen … We're expecting more of a game like we did last year. We have a much different team, more experience, and we have a bunch of killers.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
