On paper, one team had the chance to deny the Durango High School girls soccer team its first league title since 2017. It was Montrose, which the Demons faced on the road Tuesday.

After feeling some early pressure, the Demons (8-0-1, 6-0-1 5A/4A Southwestern League) broke through late in the first half when Kyle Rowland scored on a free kick.

Clara Krull would add two goals in the second half to give the Demons a 3-0 lead, and a late goal by Montrose wouldn’t do enough to scare the DHS in a 3-1 win for the visitors.

“I think every team goes through a little lull in their game,” DHS head coach Melissa Halonen said. “They tested us more than we had anticipated. A lot of girls had to dig deep to come up with a win.”

One of Krull’s second-half goals came with an assist from Sarah Somrak, who made a strong run down the right sideline all the way to the end line. She played a low diagonal cross that went across the frame of the goal and found Krull on the end of a run for a beautiful finish.

Krull’s other goal was assisted by Mason Rowland.

Montrose got a goal past Durango when a bouncing cross in the box found a Montrose player’s body and was directed into the goal with 10 minutes to play.

DHS will look to finish the regular season with another win at noon Saturday at Grand Junction Central, a team it beat 8-0 at home earlier this year.

A win likely will send DHS into the 16-team Class 4A state tournament as one of the top seeds. DHS is No. 8 in the CHSAANow.com coaches poll, entered the day second in the CHSAA RPI standings and was fourth in the MaxPreps.com poll. All three play a factor in state seeding. DHS will find out its seed Sunday.

“One more to go. We have to finish off our league, get the best result possible and get a good seed for the tournament,” Halonen said.

jlivingston@durangoherald.com