A year ago, Fruita Monument won the Class 4A/5A Southwestern League girls soccer championship in a tiebreaker with Durango thanks to a one-goal differential. If the two teams end up tied atop the standings this year, it will be the Demons who get that tiebreaker.
It wasn’t the result the Durango High School Demons wanted Saturday, but preserving the tiebreaker became a win within itself late in Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Fruita.
The Wildcats (6-2, 3-1 SWL) received a goal from Michaela Dangler in the opening minutes of Saturday afternoon’s game. It held up for a 1-0 victory against the Demons (7-4, 3-1 SWL).
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Durango.
“The slipped a ball through a couple of our players who missed it, and our keeper didn’t come out for it,” DHS head coach Dalon Parker said of the Fruita goal. “She slotted it home. It was a battle back-and-forth after that, but we couldn’t put one in the back of the net.”
The Wildcats didn’t sink back into a defensive formation after the goal, knowing they needed at least one more in the tiebreaker scenario. Both teams applied pressure throughout the game, but Parker said his team played a bit more defensive in the final five minutes to preserve the goal differential.
DHS has played with backup goalkeeper Susanna Gustavson since its previous 2-0 win against Fruita Monument on April 8. Emily Badgeley suffered a concussion in that game. Only 12 minutes into Saturday’s road game at Fruita, Gustavson sustained a concussion. Parker was forced to pupt postion player Kayla Rubinstein in goal for the remainder of the contest.
“She made some pretty great saves to keep us in the game and keep us going,” Parker said. “We have like six girls with concussions. It’s ridiculous right now. It’s pretty unlucky.”
DHS can secure the league championship if it wins its final four league games. The Demons will face Grand Junction and Grand Junction Central each twice. The team will try to get healthy before a home game at 10 a.m. Saturday against Grand Junction.
“We played good soccer,” parker said. “It was a playoff atmosphere, and getting an experience out of that is big. The team is unified together and never stopped under adversity. We continue to look like a team the more we push on.”
Baseball
BaseballThe Wolverines kept their perfect league record firmly intact Saturday at Centauri.
Bayfield picked up wins of 22-7 and 17-11 to improve to 9-3 overall and 6-0 in Class 3A Intermountain League play.
Michael Gettman hit two home runs in the 22-7 win, and Hayden Farmer also homered. Gettman was the winning pitcher, and Jake Brandon came on with strong innings in relief.
Brandon then started Game 2 and earned the win after 2 1/3 innings. He allowed four hits, two runs, two walks and struck out one. Austin Bushnell, Shane Moore and Hub Brandon all pitched in relief. Hub Brandon closed out the final 2 1/3 innings, and Moore lasted 1 1/3 innings, as each gave up two runs. Centauri scored five runs off Bushnell in one inning of work.
Jake Brandon was red-hot at the palte. He went 5-for-6 with a double, three runs scored and two runs batted in. Alex Demko added a solo home run in a 2-for-4 day at the plate. He scored twice and drove in two.
Rhett Hoover, who played another strong game at first base defensively, was 2-for-5 with a double, 3 RBIs and a run scored. Gettman went 1-for-2 and was walked three times and hit by a pitch. He scored three times and drove in a run. Bushnell was 1-for-2, walked twice and also was plunked by a pitch. He scored twice and had three RBIs.
Centauri had two strong performances at the plate in Game 2. Martin Garcia was 3-for-4 with a triple and a homer. He scored four runs and had two RBIs. Clean-up hitter Tristan Crowther was 2-for-5 with two doubles that drove in five runs.
Bayfield will face Pine River rival Ignacio at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Ignacio.
Boys Swimming
Boys SwimmingThe Demons placed fifth out of six teams at the Red Wave Invitational in Pueblo.
Durango scored 84 points to finish ahead of Pueblo Central. Fountain-Fort Carson won the meet with 368 points, Brighton was second with 334, and Pueblo Centennial rounded out the top three with 236 points. Pueblo East was fourth with 163 points.
Jason Clark finished fourth in the 50-yard freestyle final in 25.85 seconds. He was second in the 100-yard freestyle final in 57.57. Warner Becher was fifth in the 100 in 1:01:22. Andrew Footlik added a ninth-place finish in the 100 final in 1:05.37.
Footlik also was 11th in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:33.05.
In the 100-yard breaststroke, Becher had the seventh fastest time of the weekend but did not advance tot he final.
Durango’s 200-free relay team placed fourth. The 200 medley relay team was fourth.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
