Durango High School girls soccer junior Katie Milliet lined up a free kick near midfield against Montezuma-Cortez on Wednesday.
She took too wide of a turn and fell as she took the kick, falling flat on her face.
Thankfully the Demons were leading 4-0 at the time in the 72nd minute, and the whole team could laugh about it.
“I just leaned a little too hard, and my cleats gave out,” said Milliet, daughter of Charlie and Janis Milliet. “I was thinking everyone saw that, it’s on film, I’m so embarrassed right now.”
But she and her teammates were able to see the lighter side of the slip up in a 4-0 win that gave DHS (5-5, 4-2 Southwestern League) a fourth consecutive win after losing its previous five.
The Demons didn’t begin the game as relaxed.
It took them a while to find scoring chances because of minor attacking errors.
“That was a headache,” DHS head coach Dalon Parker said. “It was a little nerve-wrecking. I was like, ‘you’re in the (six-yard box), just score.”
DHS junior Maddie Robertson relieved the pressure in the 38th minute.
Cortez (0-6, 0-5 SWL) defenders deflected Robertson’s corner kick back out to her on the left wing, and Robertson knew she had to push the ball back into the box or shoot.
She decided to shoot.
“It’s always nice to get that first goal under your belt, and then you can move on from there,” said Robertson, daughter of Jim and Susie Robertson. “We had pretty good possession, so we knew one was coming.”
A few more were on the way, too.
DHS led 1-0 at halftime before its attack gained crispness in the second half.
DHS senior Lauren Milliet scored two goals on free kicks.
Her first came on a penalty kick in the 50th minute, and she blasted a free kick from the edge of the box in the 69th minute.
Cortez also scored an own goal under DHS pressure in the 66th minute.
“Against a team you feel like you’re better than, you always want to get that first goal then let the gates open,” Parker said. “I feel like that’s what happened after Maddie scored.”
The Demons would have scored more, too, if not for Cortez keeper Elizabeth Loschert.
She made 11 saves and showed the ability to track down long shots and react quickly to close ones.
“She had some really good saves and no bobbles,” Parker said. “It was really impressive on their part.”
Now DHS can turn its attention to a monster game Friday, its third in five days.
The Demons will play at CHSAA Class 5A No. 6 Pine Creek at 5 p.m. Friday in Colorado Springs.
The Eagles boast seven Division-I signees compared to the one (Lauren Milliet) for DHS and have outscored their opponents 22-7 this season.
“It’s going to take us playing really strong. It’s going to take every player that we have, all 22, being really crisp and being locked in and channeled in,” Parker said. “When you go up against a team that is good and has seven D-1 signees you’re going to have to just come out with your A-game. You have to come out with that want and that passion.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
