In sports, ties can be confounding and Durango High School’s boys soccer team’s 1-1 tie against Fruita Monument on Saturday is another example of that.
The glass-half-full look at Durango’s tie on Saturday is that it was a stark improvement over the first meeting against the two teams matchup when the Wildcats cruised to a 5-1 victory.
On the other hand, Durango was less than 30 seconds away from a key victory before the Demons couldn’t get to a ball played in the box. Fruita’s Samuel Noem got to the ball and finished in the lower left corner for a shocking tie in the last seconds as Durango’s defensive struggles this year showed themselves.
“I gave credit to them because we worked on three different topics; that's kind of what we do every week and they excelled in all of those topics very well,” Durango head coach Sean Ackerman said. “The fight was there. The last time we played them, we kind of shut down and the fight didn't disappear today. But ultimately, it came down to just understanding the moment in the game and what is required in those decisions.”
One of the three topics the Demons worked on leading up to the game was defending the through balls over the top that split the defense. Ackerman acknowledged that there were some moments that the Demons struggled in, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been in the past.
Durango moved to 7-5-1 overall and 4-3-1 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League. Fruita moved to 5-6-3 overall and 2-5-2 in the 5A/4A Southwestern League. Senior forward Benjie Masterson had the lone goal for the Demons.
The Demons had some chances, but struggled to get quality looks against the Wildcats in the first half. Fruita had some decent chances, but Durango’s defense stood strong after allowing five goals to the Wildcats on Sept. 6.
Junior Otis Clark had a great chance late in the first half for the Demons. He received the ball inside the 18-yard box, muscled his way through a Fruita defender and got a clean shot off. The Fruita keeper was on it and made the diving stop.
“In the first half, we were in control of the game and created a couple of chances,” Ackerman said. “I just wish we could have created more and had some more looks at goal. But I was proud of us being in the attacking half for a majority of that half.”
Only a few minutes later, Durango had its golden opportunity in the first half. Clark had his legs taken out from under him inside the 18-yard box with less than two minutes left in the half. The referees called a foul, resulting in a penalty kick. Masterson stepped up to the penalty-kick spot and placed his kick in the lower right corner for a 1-0 lead that Durango would take into halftime.
The Demons had a solid start to the second half, possessing the ball well and standing strong on defense. Fruita struggled to get behind the Durango defense with through balls on the quick Durango turf.
Senior goalkeeper Quinn Harrison did have to step up and make a few key stops as the Demons had a few shaky moments on defense with poor clear, too many dribbles and poor passes. Harrison was there and wasn’t afraid of contact with the Fruita forwards.
Durango nearly had its second goal with 12 minutes left. The Demons had possessed the ball well in the few minutes before that. Senior Derek Caudle found space from about 20 yards out and shot a low ball that hit the left post. The Demons had the follow, but couldn’t squeeze the ball inside the near post for the second goal.
Then, disaster struck with the clock under two minutes. After many close calls, the Wildcats finally connected on a long ball as the Demons struggled to track the ball into the box. Noem capitalized with the finish and left the Durango fans and players stunned as the referee blew the final whistle after the ensuing kickoff.
Durango hits the road to play at Montrose on Friday at 4 p.m. The Demons have their final regular season game vs. Palisade on Saturday at 3 p.m.
“I still see fight in them,” Ackerman said. “We can still make a run. It’s just about where we get in the playoffs and we’ll adapt to that. But right now, our focus is on Montrose.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
