{"id":561264,"date":"2026-03-26T04:11:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T04:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/561264\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T04:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T04:11:21","slug":"strong-first-half-powers-durango-girls-soccer-past-delta-in-home-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/561264\/","title":{"rendered":"Strong first half powers Durango girls soccer past Delta in home opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

Schowalter led the Demons with two goals in 4-1 home win<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Josephine Phare of Durango High School celebrates her goal while playing Delta High School on Wednesday at DHS. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/p>\n

\n Jerry McBride\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Durango High School girls soccer\u2019s only one-goal loss last season was to Delta, and the Demons made sure the 2026 matchup went the other way and wasn\u2019t that close with a 4-1 victory on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Fans, coaches and players couldn\u2019t have dreamed of a better start for the Demons. They found open space early, connected on passes and had a 2-0 lead less than seven minutes into the game.<\/p>\n

Delta couldn\u2019t control possession very well, and didn\u2019t test the Durango defense a ton in the first half as the Demons led 3-0 at the break. The teams split the second half as the Demons avenged last season\u2019s 3-2 road loss. Durango will hope to replicate its success last year when it won 14 consecutive games after the Delta game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very impressed with our starting play,\u201d Durango head coach Zac Keeler said. \u201cWe worked on trying to get quick throw-ins into the game, and capitalize off it on this hot day. We caught them off guard and gave us real good opportunities to get some shots and some goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durango improved to 1-1 overall with its home-opener win. Sophomore Lia Schowalter led the Demons with two goals. Senior forward Josie Phare and sophomore Emma Pritchett each had a goal for the Demons. Junior midfielder Lila Scherer-Sickler had an assist.<\/p>\n

Delta dropped to 0-2-1 overall with the loss.<\/p>\n

The Demons struck first, less than five minutes into the game. Schowalter got the ball on the left side of the 18-yard box, tapped it in between her defender\u2019s legs and then tapped the ball across the goal line as the Delta keeper was out of position. Durango led 1-0 with 37 minutes left.<\/p>\n

Only a few minutes later, Durango doubled up its advantage. Scherer-Sickler was one of the team\u2019s best passers last season with an innate sense of where her teammates are and where the gaps in the defense are. She played a great through ball to Phare, who timed her run perfectly on the left side to be wide-open. Phare sent in an easy finish to put the Demons up 2-0 with 33:56 left in the first half.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lila Scherer-Sickler of Durango High School passes the ball past a Delta High School defender on Wednesday at DHS. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/p>\n

\n Jerry McBride\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cJosie and Lila, with a matchup with Lia as well, were a very dominating force,\u201d Keeler said. \u201cThey definitely have some dynamic movements that get them into crucial positions on the field, which allows them to find good opportunities to score those goals \u2026 we came out fiery and wanted to prove ourselves in that match.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Josephine Phare of Durango High School strikes a goal against Delta High School on Wednesday at DHS. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/p>\n

\n Jerry McBride\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Delta had a problem a lot of road teams face at Durango High School: judging the speed of the fast turf. The Panthers struggled to connect passes and instead tried to play long balls. Delta couldn\u2019t link up with its forwards early on those long balls, and the Durango defense did a good job staying composed and making the right play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling really good because I\u2019m constantly surrounded by players I trust,\u201d Durango defensive midfielder Jensen Quenzler said. \u201cIt really helps me be calm and comfortable on and off the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durango continued to find wide-open space in the midfield thanks to some good passing. Sophomore Emma Pritchett used that space to fire a long-distance shot toward goal. The ball had some good zip to it, but the Delta keeper tried to trap it with her legs, and the ball went into the goal. Durango led 3-0 with 18 minutes left.<\/p>\n

On offense, the Demons had a few good chances in the final 15 minutes of the first half, but the Durango defense had a few shaky moments.<\/p>\n

The Demons passed the ball out of bounds deep in their half, and with less than a minute left, senior goalkeeper Ryne Neiman was called into action. Durango missed on a bouncing ball, and a Delta forward took the ball one-on-one against Neiman. The forward fired the ball into Neiman, and the senior keeper controlled it to keep Durango up 3-0 at the half.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s allowed to make mistakes, and Ryne is there to take care of us when those mistakes are made,\u201d Keeler said.<\/p>\n

Keeler wasn\u2019t afraid to put his subs in the second half, and the Demons\u2019 clean sheet evaporated with 15 minutes left in the second half when a Panther had a nice one-touch finish off a corner kick. Less than 45 seconds later, Durango responded with Schowalter. She got the ball in a crowded 18-yard box and finished into the lower left corner.<\/p>\n

The Demons continued to control the possession in the second half, but didn\u2019t have the same success getting chances on target like they did in the first half.<\/p>\n

Next up for Durango is at Montrose on Friday at 5 p.m. to begin 4A\/5A Southwestern League play. Keeler said his team needs to control the pace of the game by slowing it down compared to how the Red Hawks like to play. Durango\u2019s next home game isn\u2019t until April 11.<\/p>\n

bkelly@durangoherald.com<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Riley Smith of Durango High School fights off the Delta High School defense on Wednesday at DHS. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/p>\n

\n Jerry McBride\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mena Cerwin of Durango High School controls a pass while playing Delta High School on Wednesday at DHS. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/p>\n

\n Jerry McBride\n <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Copy article link\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Schowalter led the Demons with two goals in 4-1 home win Josephine Phare of Durango High School celebrates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-561264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}