The Durango boys soccer team started its season with a pair of road wins on Friday and Saturday.
The Demons rallied from a 2-0 deficit against No. 5 Battle Mountain to beat the Huskies in double overtime on Friday, 3-2.
“It was a great start,” said DHS head coach Aaron Champenoy. “More than anything, I was super impressed with this group’s grittiness to keep fighting for each other.”
The next day, seven different Demons scored as Durango blew by Glenwood Springs, 7-1.
Against Battle Mountain, the coach said the Demons came out pretty well and had some good chances in the first half, but was unable to capitalize. The Huskies, meanwhile, were able to score a pair of goals and took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
“They could have very easily folded,” Champenoy said. “At half I told them that they weren’t far off.”
Instead of folding, Durango pulled together and rallied.
Sam Carozza got the Demons on the scoreboard four minutes into the second half, intercepting a Battle Mountain pass and then booting it into the goal.
“After that first goal, I could see the belief start to grow,” Champenoy said.
Two minutes later, David Smagacz won a 50/50 ball deep into Battle Mountain’s territory and slotted it home to tie the game, 2-2.
“Then it was a battle of wills,” Champenoy said. “It was a great game to watch and be a part of.”
Neither team scored again in regulation, or in the first overtime.
In double overtime, however, Niko Korte scored the game winner for DHS.
“It was just a really good team performance; everyone contributed in their own way,” Champenoy said. “Coming back from 2-0 down on the road against a top-five team is not easy. I think it shows a ton of character and what this team could be all about this year.“
Against Glenwood Springs on Saturday, Durango had to make some adjustments with some of its starters sitting out and also playing on a narrow field with long grass.
Just four minutes into the contest, however, Smagacz scored for the Demons to keep their momentum rolling.
“That settled down our nerves and we never looked back,” Champenoy said.
Korte, Teryk Webber and Micah Stahl then scored to give DHS a 4-0 lead heading into halftime.
Glenwood Springs scored on a penalty kick, but Durango answered back to extend the lead again. Sam Persing scored a goal to go along with two assists while Owen Carozza also netted a goal.
The coach called the weekend a great “confidence builder,” but added that he didn’t want the team to get arrogant after it.
Durango moved into the No. 7 ranking in Class 4A after the wins while Battle Mountain dropped out of the rankings.
Durango will face two more good opponents this week. On Thursday, the Demons will play at Pueblo West and then Saturday the Demons will host Overland at 1 p.m. in its home opener.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us to keep this going,” Champenoy said.
colivas@durangoherald.com
