Durango High School girls lacrosse scored the first goal in the Demons’ second-round state playoff game against Air Academy, but the Kadets had all the answers after that with a 22-9 win.
It’s the second consecutive season where the Demons won the 4A Mountain West League, dominated an inferior opponent in the first round and didn’t have the skill level and physical presence to stay with their opponent on the road in the second round.
Air Academy didn’t have any weaknesses on offense at home. It scored in transition and with timely cutting, catching and scoring. Durango didn’t have much success on the draw, and when it got the ball, it was met with a physical defense it didn’t see on the Western Slope.
The Demons’ inexperience on defense showed as the Kadets got great looks in front of Durango junior goaltender Jody Holden all night, as they advance to the quarterfinals.
“They played a whole level of physicality that we’re not used to, and I don’t know that we responded the way I would’ve liked,” Durango head coach Eric Elliot said. “The girls played well. We got into the mercy clock, and then we dug ourselves out of it, and then got put back into it. But we were fighting all the way through … They put it on us. Their ball movement and their ball skills were pretty darn good.”
Durango finished the season 10-5 overall for its second consecutive 10-win season. Freshman Janelle Dingler and senior Taylor Babcock each had four goals to lead the Demons. Babcock finishes her career as the program’s leader in goals and points.
Air Academy improved to 11-4 overall and will play No. 2 Golden on Monday.
The Demons got things going in transition. Junior Indie Eaton showed her speed traveled and she took it the distance to give Durango a 1-0 lead with 10:49 left. Air Academy responded with three goals in the next two minutes for a 3-1 lead. The Kadets were dominating the draw early and forced a couple of shooting space calls, leading to free shot looks.
Durango finally got possession off the draw and got into its set offense for the first time. Babcock drew a foul and converted on the free shot to cut the lead to 3-2 with 7:15 left in the first quarter.
Air Academy continued to control possession and even forced a turnover behind Durango’s net as the Kadets scored two goals from close range to increase their lead to 5-2.
The Demons’ inexperience on defense was really showing. Air Academy’s cutting size and passing were causing problems as Durango struggled to stay with the Kadets. Durango’s defense also struggled with Air Academy’s pressure on clears. The Kadets led 7-3 after the first quarter, after Babcock scored with two seconds left.
“The freshmen showed today, and the new girls showed today,” Elliot said. “We were making some mistakes that we haven’t made before … We made the best of it all year, and we played a complete team today. Usually, you can identify one or two girls on a squad that don’t really have much interest in the ball and don’t have the same look of confidence on them, and Air Academy did not have those girls on that team.”
Both teams’ pace slowed down to start the second quarter, which favored the Kadets because they were better with their set offense. Air Academy scored the first three goals before Dingler had a nice score from a tough angle to cut the lead to 10-4. Air Academy had the response as its draw control continued to thrive, and Durango struggled to deal with Air Academy’s size, speed and stick handling.
Dingler had another nice goal off a nice pass from Babcock, but the Demons couldn’t get stops either from caused turnovers or from saves. Air Academy led 13-5 at the half.
“Janelle and Taylor had some great moments,” Elliot said. “Once we could get it up into the midfield and have some space to work, we had some success there … The girls felt the pressure as the game wore on, and we were making some passes that I wish we could have had back.”
Air Academy scored three goals in the third as it continually found open driving lanes to create one-on-one looks against Holden. Dingler continued her strong showing with another nice finish off a hesitation move from the left side. Babcock scored off a free shot, but Air Academy always had the response with two more goals as the Kadets led 19-7 after three quarters.
The Demons have a lot to look forward to in 2027. They will miss Babcock and excellent defenders, Laurel Dondlinger and Scarlett Ramsey. However, Dingler was excellent this season as a freshman. Eaton and Frausto terrorized defenses this year and should be even better next season as seniors. Holden will be a senior next season, and sophomore Keelyn Reynolds was a revelation on defense in her first year playing.
“We’re feeling a lot better about where we’re sitting for the first day of next season, than we did this season, that’s for sure,” Elliot said.