DHS Girls’ Soccer made an impact in Durango as they went as far as the Quarter-finals in the 2025 CHSAA Girls Soccer State Championships this season. Durango had a successful start to the playoffs, going in with a record of 10-0 in the league games, which had earned them the 5th seed.
The Demons faced off against Mountain View High School on May 7 at DHS, they won 8-0.
Goals were made by Lauren McClellan, Emily McVaugh, Jensen Quenzler, Lila Scherer-Sickler, Gracie Fitzpatrick, and Ellis Campbell.
The Demon’s players also had many assists, coming from Lia Schowalter, Josie Phare, and Peyton Cioppa. The Demons played a great game, which made the Lions unable to have any chances on offense.
In the second round of the playoffs, the Demons faced off against Riverdale Ridge. With the home-field advantage, the Demons were able to win another game to move on in the playoffs. Lila Scherer-Sickler scored the goal with an assist from Ellis Campbell. It was a tough game, and the Demons didn’t score until the 2nd half of the game.
The Demons had their last game in Parker. Durango faced off against Lutheran High School, which had a record of 12-3-1.
The Demons played well, but not well enough to continue the 14-game win streak. The Demons struggled to find opportunities against Lutheran, as they played a 3-2-3-2 formation, which was unfamiliar to the Demons.
Emma Pritchett is a freshman at DHS and on the Varsity team. When asked how she felt the season went this year, she answered, “I think the season went good, and the team was really close, which helped with our chemistry and working together on the field.”
Zac Keeler is the Head Coach and led the team to a successful season this year. He was asked, How did you feel when the team advanced to the Quarter-finals of the playoffs? ” He answered, “We were able to make it to the quarter finals this year. The last time the Demons did this was five years ago. I was amazed with how well our team performed in the playoffs. It was a peak performance from all players on the pitch.”
“I think this year‘s season went better than expected,” Keeler said, ” We averaged three goals a game. I was able to give players more time on the field than I had expected as well. We were 8-0 at home. And we won the league for the first time in five years.”
Durango had a good season after starting with a rocky start, with 3 losses. The Demons showed up this season and had 14 consecutive wins this season. This year’s team was a different team than past seasons. This season, the Demons had the most wins and had the furthest progress in the playoffs since 2022.
“We had to do cuts for tryouts this year,” Keeler answered when asked about the growing sport, “We are getting larger numbers than years past. Our home games crowd got larger and larger as the year went on.”
“I expect next year to be a lot like this year,” said Keeler, “We have a great chance to win the league again. We will be putting the ball in the net more often as well.”
