Sometimes, a league matchup can be out of a team’s league.
Durango boys soccer and Palisade matched up on Saturday afternoon at Durango High School in a 5A/4A Southwestern League matchup. On the field, Palisade was nowhere near Durango’s league.
The Demons dominated from the start, controlling at least 70% of the possession with crisp ball movement with more skilled and athletic athletes. Except for a miscue early in the second half, Palisade never threatened Demons junior goalkeeper Quinn Harrison.
Senior midfielder Mavrick Rodriguez scored three goals to lead Durango to a convincing 5-1 victory.
“It could have been a lot better,” Durango head coach Sean Ackerman said. “I’m impressed and proud of them doing a better job than the last time we played against them because they made it tough for us the last time out. We had plenty of chances to put this game away and I prefer a clean sheet. We need to stay sharp for 80 minutes.”
Senior forward Dylan Burns had a goal and an assist and senior midfielder Orlando Palacios had a goal.
The Demons improved to 8-2-1 overall with the win and 5-1 in 5A/4A Southwestern League play. Palisade fell to 2-9 overall and 1-6 in 5A/4A Southwestern League play.
Rodriguez had two shots from close range as Durango dominated possession early on. Then, Burns used his speed to streak down the right side toward the end line, passed it to Rodriguez who found the back of the net from close range after a deflection from the keeper. Durango led 1-0 with 33 minutes to go.
Palacios looked like he ran out of room in the left corner near Palisade’s goal. He had a few nice dribbling moves to get down the endline. Palacios was then taken down inside the box for a penalty kick. He buried the penalty kick and the Demons went up 2-0 with 29 minutes to go in the first half.
“That was his best game,” Ackerman said about Palacios. “What I’ve been really proud of him for this season is his work rate. He’s really upped it. He works back, does the defensive work. He still likes to dribble but he’s getting better at knowing when to release and when to take it himself. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Durango continued to pressure and dominated possession. Palisade didn’t have the speed or skill to do anything. On a corner, Rodriguez found the back of the net with his head off great service from Owen Martinez. Rodriguez’s goal put Durango up 3-0 with 23 minutes left in the first half.
The Demons continued to dominate possession. Palisade didn’t have a shot on goal. Burns ran onto a through ball and smashed it with his left foot. The Palisade keeper attempted to save it but the ball still found its way into the back of the net for a 4-0 lead with less than two minutes to go. Durango took that lead into halftime.
Durango fell asleep to start the second half. Palisade forward Cy Hobbs found space in the middle of the defense and broke through for a breakaway goal three minutes in to cut the deficit to 4-1.
“We had a cheap turnover that put us out of sorts and went right at us,” Ackerman said. “We really harped on at halftime about staying sharp. That’s something we need to do better.
There was a lack of urgency for the Demons early in the second half. They were a little too cute with some of their passes while still pressuring Palisade. Then, Rodriguez worked hard in the midfield, created a turnover and took it from midfield to a 1v1 breakaway. He finished to put Durango up 5-1 with 21 minutes left.
Durango travels to play at Grand Junction Central on Friday at 5 p.m.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
