High school soccer: Davis playing historically stout defense

At the start of this season, Davis soccer coach Souli Phongsavath had no idea what to expect from his defense.

At the very least, he was pretty worried, considering the Darts were breaking in four new defenders and a goalkeeper.

"I knew we would score goals, but I didn't know if we could outscore our opponents," said Phongsavath. "That was the biggest question mark this year."

Up to this point in the season, however, needing to outscore opponents has never come into the equation for the second-ranked Darts.

Through nine games, Davis' defense has been nothing short of sensational. Aside from a 77th minute goal by Northridge in the opening game of the 2010 season, the Darts haven't conceded a goal this season, and at the other end, Davis has amazingly outscored opponents 37-1 to help propel the high-flying Darts to an unblemished 9-0 record.

That Davis has been scoring lots of goals isn't a surprise. But that the Darts have now gone 643 minutes without conceding a goal?

Stunning, to say the least.

Defenders Dallin Hart, Landon Hart, Derek Farnes and Dillan Lewis have been fantastic, stopper Steven McGrath has been a star and goalkeeper Brackin Flitton has been excellent when called upon.

"I really can't say enough about the efforts that they've put in this year," said Phongsavath of his backline. "Not a lot of varsity experience before this year, and they're not the most technical players in the world.

"But their effort and how physical they are and how they never give up — you almost have to beat them two or three times to get in on goal — has been outstanding. And then when there have been breakdowns, Brackin has come up huge. He's made some amazing saves."

And then there's McGrath, who's been a huge presence for Davis in the middle of the park.

"I think he is probably one of the most underrated defenders in the state," said Phongsavath. "I have never seen him lose a tackle. He's strong in the air, and he's just everywhere in the middle for us."

Davis' defensive stats of eight shutouts, eight consecutive shutouts, 643 minutes without conceding a goal and just one total goal conceded have progressed to the point that they're now in the same stratosphere as some of the state's hallowed defensive records.

Brighton set the state records for shutouts (17), consecutive shutouts (11), consecutive minutes without conceding a goal (974) and fewest goals allowed (5) back in 2006.