The Dodge City Red Demons survived and advanced Thursday night, coming from down 1-0 to beat the Haysville-Campus Colts 2-1, winning the Regional Championship.
Sophomore defenseman Erubiel Duron and sophomore forward Alan Lopez had the Red Demon goals in the win.
In the first half, the Red Demons had the majority of the chances, but with 9:10 left in the half, the Colts capitalized on one of their opportunities, scoring on a free kick to take a 1-0 lead which they took into halftime.
In the second half, the Red Demons continued to control possession through the first 20 minutes of play, but were still unable to score.
Down 1-0, Red Demon coach Saul Hernandez made three substitutions with 18:20 left in regulation, and a couple minutes later the move worked.
“I felt at that point we needed a spark,” Hernandez said. “The front three forwards looked tired, and I know the next three [are] gonna give it their all, and I saw their defense tired, and we just needed someone to keep on pounding and put it in.”
One of the players Hernandez sent in at the time was Duron.
“He just told me ‘we need someone to step up and go in. Just give it your all.’” Duron said. ”[There was] a good corner, good reflection by Erik (Martinez), I was just there luckily to score it in.”
There was great energy, Duron said, and everyone on the team was a part of the come-from-behind win.
