Durant soccer made their way to Bloomingdale on Monday to take on a strong duo in the Bulls’ boys and girls teams.
Durant’s boys, entering the night at 1-1-1, narrowly fell to the undefeated Bloomingdale squad by way of a 1-0 final while Durant’s girls entered the night at 4-0 and were able to remain undefeated with a 6-2 victory.
In the Cougars’ first contest, the boys went into halftime trailing 1-0 after a first half goal from Bloomingdale junior Giovanni Morales. In the second half Durant would need to push to level the match, but Bloomingdale was able to control possession and the pace of play along with it, forcing the Cougars to rely on sporadic counter attacks and long passes up the wing, a scenario that left Durant’s scoring chances few and far between.
Bloomingdale nearly pushed their lead to two early in the second half as a cross was sent into the box in the 44th minute, connecting with the head of a Bulls’ forward but resulting in a shot sent just wide of the goalpost. Durant was able to manufacture a pair of meaningful chances in the match’s dying minutes but were unable to break through as they fell to 1-2-1.
The girls match was an intriguing non-tournament battle between two teams that are both featured in Tampa Bay Top Ten’s area-wide Champions League, with 4-0 Durant at 1-0 in tournament play, sitting atop a group that features Calvary Christian, Sickles and River Ridge, and 4-0-2 Bloomingdale also at 1-0 in tournament play and leading a group that features Land O’ Lakes, Academy of the Holy Names and Wiregrass.
Durant immediately imposed themselves as the match’s aggressor, holding possession and repeatedly beating their defenders up the wings to ultimately create golden chances inside the 18-yard box. In the seventh minute, sophomore forward Mykala Ulrich beat her defender up the right side and delivered a beautiful pass in front of goal but the shot was sent just high over the bar. A few minutes later Ulrich was on the move up the right side again, earning a throw in that she quickly put on the feet of junior forward Kassidy Oliver, passed off to freshman Addison Kapustiak at the top of the 18-yard box and fired just wide, another razor thin miss for the Cougars.
With time ticking away in the first half Durant eventually capitalized in the 26th minute. A through ball from junior Kayla DuBose to Ulrich led to a thwarted cross and a subsequent corner for the Cougars. Freshman Kendal Vician handled the corner kick, headed toward the top of the box where it was put on goal by DuBose to give Durant a 1-0 lead. And in the 33rd minute, a cross from Ulrich was settled near the far post by sophomore Karlie Collins, poked away by a defender but instantly gathered and finished by Kapustiak to extend Durant’s lead to 2-0.
In the 39th minute, just moments before the whistle sounded for halftime, Bloomingdale got on the board as senior Emily Gundin battled her way into the 18-yard box and created just enough space to tuck a perfectly placed shot into the net and cut the Cougars lead to 2-1 at the end of the first half.
Durant started the second half even quicker than they did the first, with chance after chance before the Cougars broke through as Oliver put the ball on the foot of Collins who beat her defender and put them up 3-1 in the 47th minute.
Bloomingdale immediately responded with what appeared to be a goal from sophomore Jordin Gundin, but the play was ruled offside, and in the 60th minute they once again cut the Durant lead to one as a free kick from the right side was deflected on frame and into the net by sophomore Mya Cripe, putting the contest at 3-2.
From that moment forward it was as if the floodgates opened for Durant’s offense, with Vician converting to give the Cougars a 4-2 lead in the 63rd minute, Ulrich beating a charging keeper to give the Cougars a 5-2 lead in the 72nd minute and sophomore Belinda Posadas cleaning up a chance from Ulrich that was parried away by the Bloomingdale keeper in the 77th minute to give the Cougars a 6-2 lead and seal the victory, allowing them to remain perfect at 5-0 on the year.
On Tuesday, Durant’s girls turned right back around and traveled to Clearwater where they moved to 2-0 in Champions League play — and 6-0 on the season — with a 1-0 win over Calvary Christian. Durant’s soccer teams then hosted Freedom on Wednesday and will wrap up their week against East Bay on Thursday.