Facing virtual must-win situations to stay in the thick of the District 5A-4 playoff chase, both the Durant girls and boys soccer squads each posted their initial league wins on Friday night at Tulsa Rogers.
The Lady Lions were 3-1 victors while the Lions followed with a hard-fought 1-0 verdict. That helped each team rebound after falling at home to Coweta earlier in the week as the DHS girls were on the short end of a 4-1 score while the boys lost a 3-2 nailbiter.
Each team will be back home this Friday for massive challenges against district-leading Tulsa Edison as they open a three-game homestand to wrap up the season.
Girls
In the opening game of the week, it was a tight contest most of the way before Coweta tacked on a pair of goals in the closing five minutes to put it completely out of reach for a Lady Lion comeback.
J.J. Patten had the lone Durant goal in the first half but they were stymied the rest of the way. Maggie Martens had a strong outing in goal with a whopping 18 saves on the night.
Against Rogers, the Lady Lions snagged a 2-1 first half advantage and then controlled possession most of the way after intermission while adding another goal for insurance.
Kira Hoffman, Avery Blackburn and Patten each punched one into the back of the net for a goal while Patten and Liz Thomas contributed assists.
Maggie Martens had a stellar outing in goal, allowing just one into the net as she made 11 saves.
Boys
A slow start dug the Lions a 3-0 hole in the opening half facing Coweta in which they couldn’t quite recover from.
Durant turned the momentum after the intermission break, notching goals by Luis Amaya and Joseph Flores, but were not able to punch in a third goal equalizer before the end of regulation.
“We played really hard in the second half and had several chances to tie or win the game,” head coach John Wilmoth said. “I was proud that we did not give up and showed what type of team we are.”
Playing in wet conditions on Friday, scoring was tremendously difficult throughout the contest. The Lions however took advantage of miscue on a mishandled pass by Rogers inside their own box to allow the only goal of the contest.
Leland Hardwick was stellar in goal to spur the defensive charge with 10 saves while holding the Rangers at bay.
“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” Wilmoth stated.
