High school soccer: Defensive Darts clinch Region 1

KAYSVILLE — One signature for Davis High over the past few seasons has been a potent offense with the ability to churn up multiple goals with ease. This season, the Darts have worked hard to become equally fearsome on the defensive end.

Signs of progress were in abundance against Fremont on Tuesday afternoon. Davis thoroughly flustered the Silver Wolves on the offensive end for 80 minutes en route to a 2-0 victory.

Winning secured a fourth straight Region 1 championship for the Darts. Getting a region title with a week to go in the regular season says a great deal to Davis coach Souli Phongsavath about this team's potential.

"It speaks volumes about their character and their hard work and dedication," Phongsavath said. "I said to them I don't know too many teams that will lose their leading goal scorer from the year before and still have results like we've had."

Clinching the title came with a big assist from sound defensive play.

The Darts clogged the passing lanes and forced Fremont into sending forward long balls rather than relying on more controlled passing through the midfield.

In the end, it helped Davis shut out its third consecutive opponent and earn a ninth clean sheet this season.

"We've been working a lot on defense," senior midfielder Sammi Swan said. "We've gotten a lot stronger, and we're playing a lot harder in the back."

Swan made sure Davis took advantage on the offensive end. She gave the Darts a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute after successfully converting a takeaway into a scoring chance. Swan dribbled through the penalty area and slotted the ball inside the left post to put Davis on the board.

Ironically, the Darts nearly scored on a similar play a minute earlier when Kendra Bailey had a takeaway and sent it forward to Melanie Ostler in the middle of the area. Ostler had just Fremont goalkeeper Kelsey Parsons to beat and fired the ball past her.

The shot sailed just wide of the left post.

Fremont had a chance to take the lead in the fourth minute when Ryley Hansen fired a ball from distance and hit the underside of the crossbar. The ball dropped straight down right outside the line. Mariah Elmer rushed forward and tried to chip it past goalkeeper Dani McKay.

McKay held her ground and snatched the ball out of the air for a crucial save. That ended up being the biggest threat the Silver Wolves would pose to Davis.

The Darts added an insurance goal in the 59th minute when Katelyn McLeod converted a penalty kick awarded after Parsons fouled Swan inside the area.

Two Region 1 games still remain for Davis. But with another No. 1 seed wrapped up, the Darts are looking at this as a first step to bigger and better things.

"We've come so far," Swan said. "We kind of struggled at first, but we've come back and we are winning all these games. We're doing great, I think, and we're playing as a team."

e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com