Winning has been a staple of the Durango boys soccer program. Since 2014, the Demons have won 10+ games every season (except the 2020 COVID-19 shortened season) and have finished either first or second in their league. In the last three years, the Demons had a combined record of 42-6-3.
This year, there will be some changes to the program. After two seasons with Durango, Danny Suits is no longer the head coach of the program and Sean Ackerman has taken over. Ackerman was an assistant on last year’s team.
In the offseason, Ackerman said the group had great unity, work ethic and mentality. Ackerman said the group cycled through six or seven topics in the summer with some fitness as part of the circuits they’d do each day. He said he wanted the players to show their own interest in getting fit. They’ve done that and have got together to run and train.
“From where we were at the beginning of the summer as to where we were the last couple of weeks, we've definitely grown in fitness and the competitive nature that's been shown has just been great,” Ackerman said. “We're looking really good. I'm really excited. I’d like to see where we end up after tryouts and what goes on from there.”
The Demons lost a lot of scoring from last season. Last year’s Southwestern League Player of the Year Teryk Webber has graduated along with forwards Owen Carozza, Sam Persing, Charles Gleason and midfielder Davis Cameron.
Ackerman said he appreciated what that class did for the program and the community over the last few years. He’s excited to see what returners Dylan Burns and Maverick Rodriguez can do. Burns was first-team all-league and Ackerman thinks they can be huge scoring threats for the Demons. He’s also seen Burns and Rodriguez take on larger leadership roles as they’ve become upperclassmen.
A new player on varsity who should make some noise is Benji Masterson. He scored 18 goals and had 11 assists last year on JV and Ackerman thinks he can be a good influence right away and be a threat to score some goals.
“He's more of a technical, finesse type of player,” Ackerman said about Masterson. “He's very knowledgeable of the game and has got good soccer IQ. He knows when to take people on and when to bring others into play. That's what we look for from our forwards, is to help bring other players to allow us to create chances so that he could get himself in the box and score goals or just outside of the box. He's also a tremendous free kick taker, so I'd like to see all that translate to this next level. With it being a little more pace, we'll see how that goes.”
Ackerman also mentioned Jack Preston and Patrick Fulmer as two varsity newcomers who should make a good impact. Ackerman said they should be solid both defensively and as quarterbacks in the midfield.
At the goalkeeper position, Durango brings back junior Quinn Harrison and senior Hunter Osborn. Ackerman said the goalies have different styles. Harrison is very good at reaching the upper corners while Osborn is very good at getting down low quickly for a save. Ackerman said both goalies are working to be comfortable with the ball at their feet and Ackerman said he wants his goalkeepers to play the ball out with their feet.
On defense, Ackerman thinks senior center backs Britton Burgess and Duncan Madrigal will be massive for the Demons this year if they stay healthy.
Total football is the style Ackerman wants to play this year. He described it as the striker being the first defender and the goalie being the first attacker. Any player can play any position. Ackerman wants to build possessions through passing and the second they lose the ball, the Demons are immediately going to work to get it back.
Although the Demons have been successful the last few years, Durango has only won one playoff game in the last two years. Ackerman attributed that to a few missed opportunities and he’s going to try his best to instill a mentality of working together and dealing with adversity. With that, Ackerman thinks the Demons can win the league and go beyond.
“The main thing we've been working on and pushing for is just the work ethic and strong mentality,” Ackerman said. “That gets you championships is togetherness and team unity. It's certainly achievable and it's always going to be difficult every single season, but I do think it's very much on the table. We have some good competition in Montrose and Grand Junction. It always varies with each year, but it's certainly a path that we can achieve. We're obviously going to shoot for that and then shoot beyond that. I'm confident that we are capable of doing that.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
