The Durango High School boys soccer team had gone 180 minutes without a goal to open the season. That changed in a hurry Thursday in the third match of the spring season for the Demons.
DHS senior Sayer Frontella scored three first-half goals to give the Demons a 3-0 lead at the break. Sam Carozza and David Smagacz would add second-half goals, as the Demons avenged a 1-0 loss at Montrose only five days earlier with a 5-1 win against the Indians at home Thursday.
“It’s been a slow start for us, but each game we’ve progressed. We felt like we could have blown them out the last game, but it just didn’t happen,” Frontella said. “We knew as soon as we got on our turf and started moving the ball we could score quick and it would be over. We were stoked to get a few goals early, and now we want to put a full 80 minutes together in our next game and just keep going.”
Frontella made a run through the defense of Montrose (4-2, 4-1 5A/4A Southwestern League) on his first goal and collected a pass from Tristin Lawson and finished on the far post to put the Demons up 1-0. He made a similar run on his second goal, but from the opposite side of the field, and he finished a bouncing pass with a volley strike to the far post once more.
His third goal came off an assist from Carozza off the right wing, as Carozza got down the line and played a nice pass into the box for Frontella to finish.
“It was nice to finally score some goals,” DHS head coach Aaron Champenoy said. “It was a good week of practice. The guys were really frustrated after the first two results, and we focused on creative play, creating chances and then finishing them. The guys did a good job of that, and Sayer played really well that first half.”
Champenoy was also pleased with the play of his defense and sophomore goalkeeper Fred Reiter, who was beat just once on a strong shot from Montrose’s Aiden Harrel in the final eight minutes of the match to cut the Durango lead to 3-1.
DHS (1-1-1, 1-1-1 SWL) immediately responded to the goal allowed, as Carozza fed in his second assist of the day to Smagacz for a goal. Then, Smagacz would return the favor and set up Carozza for his goal to make it 5-1.
The two second-half DHS goals came after the Demons had two more called back for offsides.
The Demons felt the pressure to win, though only in the third game of the season, after a previous road tie with Fruita Monument and the 1-0 loss already to Montrose. Champenoy told the team it was a must-win for their league title hopes, and the players responded.
“We didn’t expect our backs to be up against the wall this quick, but we recognized it as a team that we had to step up our quality,” Frontella said. “Everyone across the board today did that. Niko Korte did a great job defensively, and Sam Caudle was clamps in the back, too. That was big for us.”
DHS will go on the road to play at 1 p.m. Saturday at Grand Junction before a home match Tuesday night against Fruita.
“We need to keep this momentum going on the road now,” Champenoy said. “The guys were excited to play at home, and we need to keep this focus and take it on the road.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
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