The Durango girls lacrosse team’s home opener couldn’t have gone much better. It was a perfect spring day and the Demons nearly played a perfect game in their dominant 15-2 victory over Montrose on Tuesday evening

Montrose had no answer for Durango’s speed and shooting. The Red Hawks struggled to maintain possession, whether it was outlet passes from their goalie or passes between midfielders. Montrose’s poor passing and catching led to multiple transition opportunities for the Demons.

Durango moved the ball well throughout the game and found open space with its passing. Durango goalie Fiona Chandler wasn’t challenged much and when she was, she made some nice saves.

“They didn't come out near as with the first game jitters as they did the last game,” Durango head coach Eric Elliot said about his team. “Believe it or not, from a goalie perspective, giving up a goal right away seemed to settle everybody down a little bit. We're a heavily focused team on conditioning during practice. It really was pretty evident in today's game, just the power of that, and with our low numbers, we were able to get a bunch of girls into the game.”

Durango improved to 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the 4A Mountain West League. Montrose fell to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the 4A Mountain West League.

Five Demons scored on Tuesday night and senior attack Sofia Naffziger led the Demons with five goals. Junior attack Taylor Babcock had four goals and senior Silvie Bosmans had three. Senior goalie Fiona Chandler had two saves.

Durango had a great chance early on right on the crease but couldn’t convert. Montrose went the other way and scored quickly in transition to go up 1-0 with 10 minutes left in the first.

The Demons responded with a takeaway in the midfield. Junior Laurel Dondlinger took it the distance and tied it 1-1 with 9:27 left.

Montrose struggled to keep possession in the middle of the first quarter and it benefited Durango. The Red Hawks either dropped catchable passes or their goalie couldn’t put an outlet pass on target. Durango got most of the ground balls and used its speed to get to the cage.

Naffziger had a nice roll dodge near the crease for a score. Sophomore Indie Eaton showed her speed off a turnover and scored to put Durango up 5-1 with 2:40 left in the first quarter. The Demons led 6-1 after the first.

“I told everybody when they're going to attack, whether it's with the ball or go to goal on a cut, to do it with 100% commitment and don't shy away from it,” Elliot said. “The last game, they were shying away, stopping and getting a lot of turnovers or forcing a really bad shot. In this game, we hardly had any bad shots and did a pretty good job of not playing catch with the goalie. Everything they did was with intention.”

The Red Hawks scored their second goal off a free shot to cut Durango’s lead to 7-2. Montrose finally had possession and delivered after the Demons were called for a few illegal body checks. Naffziger responded with a goal from close range to put Durango up 8-2. She does a great job of finding space in crowded areas and controlling the ball with some good cradling before finishing.

Scoring slowed down in the second for Durango as Montrose took better care of the ball. Durango was forced to play half-field offense, took its time with its possessions and tried new things on offense. Durango led 8-2 at half.

Naffziger showed her skill to start the third quarter with a nifty behind-the-back goal to put Durango up 10-2 with 8:20 left in the third. Durango continued to control the draws and possession. The Demons looked comfortable on offense to chew the clock and hold possession. Durango led 11-2 after three quarters.

“It’s been three years waiting of asking myself when I should do it,” Naffziger said about her behind-the-back goal. “I never really felt confident enough, but I thought, ‘I might as well do it today.”’

The Demons grew the lead in the fourth as they continued to beat their defenders and get to goal. The fourth quarter flew by with a running clock as Elliot got his subs in.

Durango hits the road to play two games at Grand Junction on Friday and Saturday. The Tigers won the league last season. Elliot said the Demons need to stay aggressive against Grand Junction and that he’s very happy with his team’s conditioning.

“Those two games are really going to set the tone for what to expect for the rest of the season, at least in the league,” Elliot said.

bkelly@durangoherald.com