FARMINGTON – Piedra Vista High shook off a slump and an early 2-0 deficit, rallying in the second half to slip past Durango 5-4 on Thursday at the Panther soccer field.
This marks the fourth consecutive season the two teams have faced off, with Durango 9 (3-4 overall, 1-2 5A/4A Southwestern) winning the first two matchups and Piedra Vista (5-2) taking the last two. The game comes at a pivotal time as both are entering several of their respective district schedules in the coming days.
Scoring for the Panthers were seniors Logan Smith and Lucas Quintana, along with junior Kai Lambson, who netted three goals. Durango’s goals came from seniors Eli Marshall and Jonas Hughes, junior Miles Daley, and sophomore Connor Allen.
Durango took the lead first when Daley found himself close to the goal to kick high up into the net, going out of reach for goalkeeper Dylan Duncan. Hughes came up with an assist on the left side to Allen to take an early 2-0 advantage.
Piedra Vista suffered a few miscues upon trying a new formation which led to the Demons maintaining possession for a majority of the first half. Panthers head coach Matt Cramer said practice the day before had not gone well, so he anticipated a rough start.
Lambson, who delivered an impressive second-half performance, pushed through the early slump despite missing a couple of close scoring chances. Smith helped with a goal, firing a shot just right of center to slip past Durango’s Hudson Gray.
Durango kept up the pressure on defense, shutting down several of Piedra Vista’s scoring attempts. During their push, senior Isaac Owens connected with Marshall, who capitalized on a defensive lapse. Duncan had come too far off his line, allowing Marshall to kick in a clean shot and send the Demons into halftime with a 3-1 lead.
Cramer recognized the issues with the Panthers’ formation and reverted the team back to their original positions to get them on track coming into the second half.
“We were trying a different formation in the first half then we switched back to our traditional formation in the second half which made a big difference, but we also fired up at halftime,” said Cramer. “I’m proud of the guys for coming out and battling back after the adversity.”
Piedra Vista found their footing in the second half, often disrupting Durango’s attacks. A goal from each side brought the score to 4-2, with both teams refusing to back down.
Players battled along the sidelines, hustling for blocks and quickly kicking the ball out to reset the play, maintaining a high-intensity pace throughout.
Lambson’s persistence finally paid off as he netted his first goal of the night, sprinting in from the left and firing a powerful shot into the back of the net. He followed it up quickly with another goal on the Panthers’ next possession, tying the game 4-4 with just under 15 minutes remaining in the half.
Cramer credited Lambson’s unpredictability in creating game-changing moments for the team.
“He’s definitely one of our impact players and we lit a fire under him at halftime,” Cramer said. “The thing with Lambson is that he’s a dangerous weapon, so he can go off at any point in time and that’s what he did.”
From that point, Durango struggled with defensive positioning, leaving gaps that Piedra Vista exploited. The Panthers created more shooting opportunities, and amongst a scramble in front of the goal, Lambson rose above the crowd to head in his third goal of the night, securing the lead and eventually the 5-4 victory.
Durango head coach Sean Ackerman acknowledged that mental mistakes played a role in the team’s second-half performance.
“It was mental errors,” Ackerman said. “We had moments where we had to be able to situate ourselves and get back to the fundamentals, but we also have to give our team credit – they kept fighting on for some opportunities.”
The loss marks Durango’s third straight defeat, following setbacks against Fruita Monument and Grand Junction. Piedra Vista picks up its second consecutive win, building momentum after last week’s victory over crosstown rival Farmington.
Despite the tough loss, Ackerman said he saw growth in his team’s effort and believes the performance proved they have the resilience to push forward in their district campaign.
“A couple games ago, we didn’t have the fight in us. But these last two games showed that we do, and we’ve worked till the final whistle,” said Ackerman. “I’m proud of the boys for doing that. Now, it’s just about staying composed and having situational awareness to finish out a game.”
Durango falls to 3-4 overall but will look to address their weaknesses when they host Grand Junction Central in a district matchup on Friday at 6 p.m. After that, they’ll travel to face Alamosa on Tuesday night.
Piedra Vista will be on the road for a pair of non-district matchups, first facing Bayfield on Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by Bloomfield on Monday at 6 p.m. The Panthers will open their District 1-5A schedule with an away game at Volcano Vista on Wednesday.
