The Durango High School boys lacrosse team shook off Friday’s 14-4 loss to Fruita Monument with a come-from-behind 10-9 overtime win against Grand Junction Saturday at DHS.
“I’m super excited for these boys to be able to bounce back after that loss and be able to stay poised and put it together for five quarters,” DHS head coach John Robinette said. “We kept our composure, and faceoffs have been an issue all season, but we won the biggest faceoff of the season yet in overtime.”
The Tigers (3-6, 2-2 5A/4A Southwestern League) pulled ahead 9-8 with a goal with 1 minute, 53 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The Demons (4-2, 2-2 SWL) answered when goalie Dylan Gaver scooped up the ball, got it to Corbin Randle, who found Cullen Robinette, who then connected with Tommy Rodgers for the tying goal with 12 seconds remaining in regulation.
In overtime, Harrison Kairalla won the faceoff and Cullen Robinette scooped up the ball. The Demons called timeout to set up a play for Ryan Smith, but the senior couldn’t find an opening and pulled the ball out. After working through the offense, Cullen Robinette moved around from the back with the ball, had a bad angle but found a sliver of the net for the game-winner with 1:37 to go in overtime.
Cullen Robinette finished with three goals, five assists and seven groundballs. Sophomore Liam Farkas had a breakout game and scored four goals on four shots. He also won 4-of-5 faceoffs and had eight groundballs. Tommy Rodgers scored twice and had two assists, and Torbin Ogden provided the other goal with an assist from Smith.
Coach Robinette said Gaver played lights out in goal with 15 saves and praised the defense of Dylan Bakkebo, Evan Berridge and Andrew Coleman in the win.
After playing five of their first six games at home, the Demons will hit the road for eight of their final nine games, starting with a road trip to Denver next weekend for games with Kennedy High School (0-4) on Friday and Bishop Machebeuf (2-3) on Saturday.
Durango High School’s girls tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss in a match with Aspen Saturday in Grand Junction.
Sophomore Mavis Edwards, and the No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Rebecca Bowers and junior Emma Jaber provided the two wins for DHS.
Edwards, playing No. 1 singles, bounced back from a 5-7 first set loss to take the second set 6-3 and the third-set tiebreaker 10-2.
Bowers and Jaber also dropped their first set, as they fell 2-6, then rallied to take the second 6-3 and the tiebreaker 10-2.
DHS No. 3 singles Lily Chick was the only other Demon to win a set against the Skiers. The junior took the first set 6-3 before falling in the second 3-6 and dropping a grueling tiebreaker 10-8.
No. 2 singles Emma Hackett, a sophomore, fell 6-2, 6-0.
No. 2 doubles team of seniors Camille Jacobs and Emma Vogel fell 6-4, 6-3; No. 3 doubles team of freshman Cella Chick and sophomore Laura Clark went down 6-0, 6-0; and No. 4 doubles team of freshman Mia Boughton and sophomore Autumn Harwin fell 6-2, 6-0.
Durango will be off until April 24 when the Demons face Skyview at the Margaret W. Carpenter Recreation Center in Thornton.
kschneider@durangoherald.com
