BAYFIELD
Maddy Duran made sure the Bayfield High School girls soccer team’s game against Telluride on Saturday would not end in a tie.
She crushed a free kick from roughly 35 yards out into the goal’s top left corner in the 45th minute to give the Wolverines a 1-0 victory and a leg up in the Intermountain League title race.
“I definitely wanted to score more than one goal, but at least we pulled out with the win,” said Duran, daughter of Joanna and Tom Duran.
That strike cracked the code after the Wolverines peppered the Miners’ goal from the outset.
BHS (4-0, 3-0 IML) outshot Telluride 18-3 in the game and picked up nine corner kicks against two. Six of those corners came in the first nine minutes, but the Wolverines couldn’t convert any of them into goals.
“Obviously I’m loving that we’re getting corner after corner after corner, but we’ve got to be able to finish on those,” BHS head coach Jen Zelinski said. “To me, that’s one of the most dangerous things defensively. I tell my players to try and avoid corners at all costs.”
The Wolverines didn’t have to worry about it much.
Telluride didn’t get its first shot off until the 31st minute and only forced BHS goalie Kailee Millard to make two saves. One of those came shortly after Duran’s goal when she tipped a free kick over the bar to preserve the team’s third consecutive clean sheet.
“I’m defensive-minded, and I’m self critical, so I think there’s a lot to be improved on defensively,” Zelinski said. “I think we’re a little out of shape, and we need to mark up better, but when the ball’s getting passed through, they’re doing a great job of getting out wide.”
The Wolverines’ defense suffered a big blow in the 36th minute when senior Jaida Ross dropped to the Wolverine Country Stadium grass clutching her ankle.
“I landed on it wrong trying to get the ball,” said Ross, daughter of Gene and Jamie Ross. “It’s kind of throbbing right now, hard to run on.”
She returned to the game in the 57th minute, much to the relief of her teammates.
“When she went down, some of the girls got really nervous and scared,” Zelinski said. “Sonja (Fleming) did a great job stepping in for her, but when Jaida came back in, everybody went, ‘Phew.’ They have a lot of confidence in her.”
The win gives BHS an early game over one of its more competitive league rivals. They’ll meet again April 26.
“It feels so good to get this win,” Ross said. “This is one of our hardest competitions in the season, and we beat them.”
Bayfield next will play Ignacio at 4 p.m. Friday at IHS.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
