The Durango High School soccer team had a flair for dramatics Saturday. Down 2-0 at halftime, the Demons roared back and saw their goalkeeper score the game-winning goal in overtime.
No. 21 Durango (11-5) upset No. 12 The Classical Academy 3-2 in overtime Saturday in Colorado Springs to advance to the second round of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 4A boys soccer state tournament.
Senior goalkeeper Caleb McGrath hit a free kick from 65 yards out, and it flew into the top left corner of the net for the game-winning goal. It was sweet revenge for the Demons, who were knocked out in the 2016 semifinals by the Titans, who would go on to win a state championship that year.
“Playing on that side in the first half, I knew the sun was bad,” McGrath said. “I knew a ball on frame would be dangerous and just tried to put it on frame. It was a ‘why not’ moment. That was my mentality heading into the match. Why not us? There’s no reason for us to leave anything on the field. Sometimes, it takes a bit of luck to advance in the playoffs, but the resiliency our guys showed, and to come back was awesome, too.”
Durango head coach Aaron Champenoy credited halftime adjustments and the will to keep battling through adversity as key factors in the win.
“We knew going on the road to Classical Academy was going to be an extremely difficult matchup for us,” Champenoy said. “I thought we came out well, created some decent chances and battled the whole match. We went down 2-0, but we didn’t give in. I made some tactical adjustments, and we were much, much better in the midfield. We won some 50-50 balls and those extra hustle plays in the second half, and it definitely got us back into the match.”
The Classical Academy (11-5) opened the scoring in the 16th minute, when Jackson Hoosier beat the Demons’ defense on a header that came off of a corner kick.
A few minutes later, Durango’s Sayer Frontella had a golden opportunity to tie the match, but his free kick struck the post and stayed out.
In their haste to celebrate too soon, Durango got caught on a counterattack, and Samuel Grotelueschen was left unmarked, and calmly put a shot past the Durango goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
Even with a 2-0 halftime deficit, DHS senior midfielder Leland Heinicke said the team did not panic.
“All year we talked about being resilient,” Heinicke said. “We knew that we might not be the best team on the field, but we knew that we could control one thing, and that was our work effort. Today was just a matter of outworking them being solid and resilient and playing our game. Honestly, we created a whole bunch of chances in the first half. We couldn’t put them away. We knew it was coming, we just had to stay patient and keep doing what we were doing.”
McGrath and Heinicke noticed an instant shift in momentum when the second half whistle blew, and the Demons took the upper hand through tactical adjustments. In the 51st minute, Frontella was brought down in the box but no foul was given. Ryan Bell ran on an overlap run to collect the ball and crossed it into the box, where freshman Cedar Newman was waiting to head the ball home. He connected well, and his fifth gaol of the season brought the Demons within one at 2-1.
In the 65th minute, Durango tied the game on a brilliant strike from winger Moritz Rosik, who had a few yards of space, dribbled and hit the ball from 45 yards out. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar and went in to tie it at 2-2.
After some frantic last-minute defending, DHS did enough to force overtime. Champenoy said his message to the players was that the most fit team was going to win. After a summer full of extra workouts, weight lifting and additional individual efforts from players, he thought his team was ready for the overtime.
“I talked to the boys about all of the conditioning and the fitness work that we do, this is why we do it,” Champenoy said. “We do it for these opportunities where it’s overtime in a playoff game, and the team that wants it the most and is the most fit is going to find a way to win. The boys went out, kept battling. We picked up a free kick, and McGrath found a way to punch it past the keeper.”
The Demons will now face No. 5 Air Academy (12-4), the two-time defending 4A state champions on Tuesday in Colorado Springs. The Kadets beat No. 28 Ponderosa 3-1 on Saturday.
“Air Academy is an extremely talented team, and going on the road again is not too different,” Champenoy said. “It’s going to take a tremendous effort from the boys. To be honest, we’re going to have to battle and do those little things like winning the 50-50 balls and turn it into a little bit of a war.
“They’re going to be extremely disciplined, athletic and technical. It’s the type of thing as an athlete, you thrive upon. Can you go on the road in a hostile environment and play well? The boys did it today, and hopefully we can figure out what we did well and try and do it again on Tuesday.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
