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Scherer-Sickler’s goal pushes Durango past Riverdale Ridge in state playoffs

Demons play against Lutheran in quarterfinals on Tuesday
Demons play against Lutheran in quarterfinals on Tuesday
Lila Scherer-Sickler of Durango High School celebrates her goal against Riverdale Ridge High School on Saturday at DHS during the second round of playoffs. (Jerry McBride/ Durango Herald)

Durango High School sophomore Lila Scherer-Sickler’s talent came through in a big way during the Demons’ 1-0 state playoff victory on Saturday afternoon.

Scherer-Sickler’s talent has been easy to see over the past two seasons with her touch, soccer IQ, vision and finishing ability. She had the perfect touch on the ball only one minute and 40 seconds into the second half against Riverdale Ridge at Durango High School. She used her head to put the ball into the lower left corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead that turned into a 1-0 victory in the second round state playoff matchup with the Ravens.

The Demons shut down a Riverdale Ridge offense that was scoring four goals per game. The Ravens repeatedly tried to connect with top scorer and speedy forward Abby Hawkins, but they were unsuccessful. Durango junior goalkeeper Ryne Neiman had to make a few saves, but the Demons stood strong for their sixth consecutive shutout victory.

“I couldn't be more proud,” Durango head coach Zac Keeler said. “Today they played this game for themselves. They won it. They played for Durango, with it potentially being their last home game. They really proved to the state of Colorado that we're ready to take on whoever they can bring at us.”

No. 5 seed Durango improved to 14-3 overall and No. 12 seed Riverdale Ridge finished its season 12-4-1 overall.

The Demons connected with Scherer-Sickler a few times early but she couldn’t get a shot on goal. Durango attacked up the middle and were inches away from potentially scoring with sophomore Ellis Campbell, but her touch was off and she couldn’t challenge the Riverdale Ridge keeper.

“They came out with an aggressive force, were man-marking us and made it difficult to try to keep possession,” Keeler said about Riverdale Ridge. “But as we were working our through balls and trying to spread their team out, it finally gave us opportunities to make some connections, find players going down the wide and even trying to find some dribbling through the middle.”

Riverdale Ridge had two great chances about 15 minutes into the game. Hawkins got behind the Durango defense twice. The first time, she took a better angle on the ball than center back Amelia Scott and streaked down the left side toward Neiman. Durango’s experienced keeper made a great tackle to kick the ball out of danger. Then Hawkins got behind Scott on a nicely timed run off a through ball and barely missed the goal on the lower left side.

Goalie Ryne Neiman of Durango High School goes for a tackle against Riverdale Ridge High School on Saturday at DHS during the second round of playoffs. (Jerry McBride/ Durango Herald)

Scherer-Sickler was involved a lot in the first 20 minutes for Durango. She was a focal point in the middle, connecting passes to others with timely flicks, finding space in the middle to be a target for her teammates and gathering loose balls. She had a great chance with 19 minutes left at the top of the 18-yard box but hit the ball over the crossbar.

Hawkins continued to threaten the Demons as the half went on. Riverdale Ridge’s offensive strategy was to play her long balls over the top into space and have her run onto them.

The Ravens had their best chance of the half with about six minutes left. Once again, the Ravens played a ball to Hawkins and this time, it looked like she had a great one-on-one look against Neiman from about 10 yards out. That was until senior Lilly Fitzpatrick appeared and made a great tackle to get the ball out of bounds. The game went into halftime tied 0-0.

Durango struck first almost 100 seconds into the second half. The Demons combined to get the ball deep into Riverdale Ridge territory. Campbell got the ball on the right side and fired in a cross into the middle of the 18-yard box. Scherer-Sickler got a head on it and then it was into the lower left corner of the goal.

Lila Scherer-Sickler of Durango High School heads the ball for a goal against Riverdale Ridge High School on Saturday at DHS during the second round of playoffs. (Jerry McBride/ Durango Herald)

The Demons’ offense opened up after their first goal, with Durango finding more space to advance than in the first half.

“It definitely calmed our nerves and gave us more confidence,” Scherer-Sickler said about her goal. “We started playing more like ourselves. It was really difficult with how low they kept their back line, with all that room in the midfield to figure out how to get around that and get more chances.”

Early in the second half, play stopped for about 30 minutes because of a nearby lightning strike.

After the delay, the Demons continued to create chances with good ball movement while Riverdale Ridge continued to try and reach Hawkins with the long ball and through ball.

Durango’s offensive pressure didn’t let up. Senior Peyton Cioppa continued to make plays and create chances for the Demons. She set up senior Bella Saren with a great look with about 13 minutes left but the shot missed the cage.

The Demons possessed the ball in the final 10 minutes. Riverdale Ridge tried to connect on some long balls, but Durango’s back line was smart and assertive with its decisions so that Neiman wasn’t threatened late.

“A lot of it was trying to stay calm, play to feet, try to build from the back and not just punt it up and then give them another chance to come back at us,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was definitely nerve-racking there at the end.”

Durango moves on to play No. 4 seed Lutheran at Lutheran High School in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

“Everyone has been working hard and everyone's attitudes at practice has been really good,” Scherer-Sickler said. “It feels good to win; it feels good to prove to people how good we actually are.”

Lila Scherer-Sickler of Durango High School celebrates her goal against Riverdale Ridge High School on Saturday at DHS during the second round of playoffs. (Jerry McBride/ Durango Herald)

bkelly@durangoherald.com