The Durango High School girls soccer team took down fellow 5A/4A Southwestern League rival Montrose 4-1 Thursday night at DHS, as the Demons scored three second-half goals to pull away with the victory.
The 4-1 DHS win was a big response from an earlier loss to the Indians (9-6, 3-5 5A/4A SWL) last month when the Demons had chances and controlled much of the flow of the game but never found the back of the net in a 2-0 loss. Thursday’s game was a different story.
Sasha Kozak opened the scoring for DHS when she scored in the 18th minute and that would be the lone tally heading into halftime at 1-0.
In the second half, Durango was awarded two penalty kicks and converted both, as Hannah Coster scored in the 50th minute, and Charlotte Hale converted her chance in the 58th minute to make it 3-0. Senior forward Kylie Phipps scored to make it 4-0 in the 65th minute, and Montrose added a late goal to prevent a clean sheet for the Demons.
“I was super proud of our effort last night,” said DHS head coach Jonathan Berzins. “Three seniors scored on senior night and they all worked extremely hard, were organized and it was a great effort from start to finish.”
DHS (7-5-1, 3-3-1 SWL) will host Grand Junction Central (2-11-1, 0-7 SWL) at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Demons are in control of their own playoff destiny, as they currently sit at No. 16 in the latest Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 4A RPI poll, and could potentially host a first-round playoff game.
The Ignacio High School girls soccer team wrapped up its most successful season in years Friday afternoon, but were unable to end on a high note and lost to Del Norte 9-0.
The Tigers (10-3-2, 6-2-2 Class 2A Region 4) scored seven points in the first half and added two more in the second half.
Ignacio (2-13, 2-8 Class 2A Region 4) will lose just one senior, captain Brianna Duran, and have plenty of promise heading into next season with all of its returning goal scorers, plus sophomore captain and goalkeeper Rylee Pearson.
Girls lacrosse
Girls lacrosseThe Durango High School girls lacrosse team could not get past a red-hot Fruita Monument offense Friday afternoon at DHS, as the Wildcats put an 11-spot on the scoreboard by the end of the first half en route to a 17-4 win in the final game of the regular season.
The Demons (6-7, 5-4 Mountain League) had good chances in the opening five minutes, but the Wildcats (9-5, 8-3 ML) quickly got its offense rolling and scored seven within the opening 10 minutes of the game. Fruita led 11-1 at halftime.
“We just allowed them too many opportunities to let them shoot on goal in that first half,” said DHS head coach Natalie Mitchell. “We’d make a save and then either not get the rebound or not connect our passes. Those little mistakes all added up and a good team like Fruita can make you pay.”
In the second half, DHS scored three times, with goals coming from Greta Cahill, Kiara Valley and Rachel Flora, who scored with less than a minute remaining.
“We had a lot of girls where this was their first year on varsity or even starting, so it’s been awesome to see them grow throughout the season,” Mitchell said.
Baseball
BaseballThe Durango High School boys baseball team battled back from surrendering a six-spot on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning against Grand Junction on Friday afternoon, but it wasn’t enough, as the Tigers held on to win 9-5.
Fynn Hyson was Friday’s starter and pitched 2 1/3 innings of work for DHS and Sten Joyner came on in relief and finished the game out.
“They jumped on us pretty early today, but I thought we battled back, all things considered, and we had a few chances there to get back right into the game,” said DHS head coach Eric Baker. “They bunched their hits all into one inning and you can put up big numbers that way.”
Durango (7-11, 1-4 SWL) trailed 8-1 when they rallied and added two in the top of the fifth and sixth innings to cut it to 8-5. In the top of the sixth, Gus Kidd had a chance to bring DHS within one run, with runners on second and third with one out, but his hard-hit line drive was caught.
Grand Junction (13-7, 3-2 SWL) was led by Christian Hafey, who went 1-for-2 with three RBIs, while Jared Chapman went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.
The teams will dual once again at 10 a.m. Saturday at Canyon View Park. Durango sophomore pitcher Gage Mestas will be on the mound.
Boys lacrosse
Boys lacrosseIt will be down to the wire for the Durango High School boys lacrosse team’s playoff chance after it suffered a 14-7 defeat to Aspen Friday evening in Aspen in its penultimate game of the season.
The Demons (6-7, 2-7 5A/4A Mountain League) entered Friday’s contest with the No. 15 RPI in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 4A poll, as the top-16 get in, and it will come down to Saturday’s game against Montrose to determine their playoff fate.
On Friday, DHS got off to an early 2-0 lead but trailed 5-2 after the first quarter. In the second, DHS scored on two extra-man-opportunities and were down 10-6 heading into the locker room. The Demons held Aspen to four second-half goals, but were unable to find the offense needed to come away with the win.
“It felt like we were always threatening today but couldn’t get over that hump,” said DHS head coach John Robinette. “We did a great job on defense only holding them to four goals, and Dylan Gaver was incredible again, but we just couldn’t put it together at the other end of the field.”
Cullen Robinette scored three goals and added two assists, while Corbin Randle had three goals and two assists. Gaver finished with 21 saves.
Durango will end the regular season against the Indians (3-11, 0-9 ML) at noon at Montrose High School.
bploen@ durangoherald.com
