Demons beat Panthers 5-0

Demons beat Panthers 5-0

Sept. 28, 2000

STAFF REPORT

DURANGO — For the first half, Durango was stymied by the Panther defense. But in the second, the Demons were just too much as they took a 5-0 win over Montezuma-Cortez in high school boys Southwest League Soccer action at Riverview Field on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 26.

Cortez head coach Todd Starr had a good strategy by playing only one forward and packing the middle. It took Durango a while to figure it out. That was a good way the young Panthers, 1-4-1, who have only two seniors and three juniors on their roster, figured they’d have a chance at keeping the game close.

"Our kids played great defense in the first half," Starr said. "The kids played very well. But Durango is a great team and, not taking anything away from Durango, our young legs just gave out. Durango has 11 seniors and nine juniors. They are an experienced team and they are ranked (no. 9 in Class 5A) and they have been destroying our league."

The strategy worked in the first half. Durango (6-1) took its 1-0 lead when Brazilian exchange student Bernardo Costa ripped a shot from the middle of the field past Cortez goalie Cody Beaver in the 12th minute. Beaver did a good job in the net, saving several shots.

The second half was dominated by the Demons, though. Kyle Fredrick made the score 2-0 in the fifth minute. About three minutes later Fredrick scored again. Costa shot but Fredrick deflected the shot into the goal. Fredrick made a hat trick by scoring his third goal of the game in the 19th minute, then Reed Duvall added the final score in the 24th minute.

"I told them that I’m dividing the game into eight segments (four 10-minute segments per half). We held them scoreless for four of them and they scored in four of them. I actually came away feeling pretty good. I’m not saying that I was pleased following a loss, but this is the first game where I really felt that our young guys were learning something. They probably learned more in this game than any other so far this season. I’m real proud of the kids," Starr added.

The Demons took 21 shots on goal. The Panthers took three. Durango’s goalies Nick Clark and Trey Duvall combined for the shutout.

The Panthers return home to host Central of Grand Junction at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, and then host Grand Junction High at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at Norman Johnson Memorial Field.