Despite being the higher seed, the Durango High School girls soccer team faced one of the hotter teams in 4A in Mullen, and the Demons didn’t have answers for the Mustang’s skill in a 2-0 loss at home in the second round of the 4A state playoffs on Saturday.
Mullen hasn’t lost since April 2 and showed why against the No. 5 seed Demons. The No. 12 seed Mustangs controlled possession throughout the game. When they didn’t have the ball, they pressed Durango into clearing the ball into the distance instead of finding a teammate.
Durango’s defense was inexperienced coming into this year, but the Demons didn’t have much competition in the regular season in the 4A/5A Southwestern League.
Once Durango got to the playoffs, the Demons’ inexperience showed. Durango struggled to defend set pieces, and the Demons fouled a Mustang inside the 18-yard box, leading to a penalty kick. Most of Durango’s offensive players struggled to create one-on-one against Mullen, and not enough chances were created to challenge the Mullen keeper, ending Durango’s season.
“I’m very proud of my players, my seniors, my starting 11,” Durango head coach Zac Keeler said. “I really felt like they gave everything they had and really left it on the field.”
Durango finished its season 13-3 overall. Mullen improved to 10-4-3 overall and advanced to play the winner of No. 4 Lutheran and No. 13 Golden in the quarterfinals.
Neiman’s first test came five minutes in after a Durango giveaway inside the 18-yard box. The Mullen player took two touches and shot from the right side of the goal just over five yards out, but Durango senior goalkeeper Ryne Neiman reacted and corralled the low shot. Both teams looked to build up attacks from the back, with possession time split fairly evenly in the first ten minutes.
After Durango’s two chances, Mullen seemed firmly in control. It looked faster than the Demons, with clean through balls and passing. Durango had a hard time maintaining possession and was stuck playing defense.
Mullen was awarded a penalty kick with 18:32 left in the first half after a collision in the middle of the 18-yard box. The Mustangs capitalized, taking a 1-0 lead with a laser shot to the bottom left corner of the goal. It seemed inevitable after how much offensive pressure they were putting on Durango.
“They started to take care of business in the midfield, and that got us tracking back a lot more than we wanted to be,” Keeler said. “We wanted to be on this side of the half, so that didn’t help out with our game plan.”
It appeared that Mullen went up 2-0 after a corner kick from the right side with 14:30 left in the first half. The initial kick was headed into a wall of Durango players, and Neiman tried to control it on the ground just in front of the goal. Another Mullen player swooped in as she was trying to gather the ball and put it in. However, the goal was called back as the referees determined the ball was kicked out of Neiman’s control.
The Demons entered the half down 1-0. It was the first time Durango had trailed at the half since the opening game of the season at Ralston Valley. Keeler wanted his team to change the point of attack in the second half. The Demons had the wind at their back, and they needed to have more possession.
“I’ve gotta give it up to Mullen,” Keeler said. “It was like they were in our heads on every goal kick and just got to it before we could.”
Durango had the first great chance of the second half. The Demons cleared the ball off a corner kick, found sophomore Lia Schowalter and she found junior Lila Scherer-Sickler open on a through ball to the middle of the field. Scherer-Sickler couldn’t control it, and it went to the keeper with 37 minutes left.
The Demons really struggled to keep possession in the second half, and it cost them. Mullen moved the ball through the midfield, put a shot on goal, which was stopped, but Neiman couldn’t control the ball. The rebound was chipped over a few players’ heads and into the goal for a 2-0 lead with 25:14 left.
“They had a good amount of corners, possession and had some strong girls up front,” Durango junior defender Aletta Holley said about Mullen. “Their speed was pretty good down the line. They kind of knew when to go down the corners, and that type of stuff.”
Mullen continued to test Durango’s defensive composure. The Demons were constantly booting the ball out of trouble and not to their teammates, allowing Mullen to easily regain possession. Neiman had to make a few quality stops in the middle of the half to keep the Mustangs from going up 3-0.
Durango couldn’t string enough passes together in the final minutes as it was shut out for the second time this season.
The Demons will lose an invaluable piece of their team in four-year starter in Ryne Neiman, along with quality goal scorer Josie Phare and quality contributors Amelia Jensen and Riley Smith.
However, Durango should have a great chance to win its third consecutive league title. Scherer-Sickler, junior Ellis Campbell and Schowalter will be back to lead the offense. Defensive starters junior Gracie Fitzpatrick, Holley, sophomore Sierra Phillips and junior Jensen Quenzler will be back after gaining a lot of experience this year.
“We’re very excited for what these girls will put forth in the future,” Keeler said. “We’ve got some work to do in the preseason. I know the girls are just ready to get right back at it.”