SYRACUSE — For almost all but 15 minutes of Thursday afternoon’s 6A quarterfinals contest against the Syracuse Titans, the Davis Darts were forced to battle the elements, in addition to the high-powered Titans themselves.
Gusting winds seemed to blow only in the Darts’ collective face at Titan Field, in the shadow Syracuse High School, sparing the hosting favorites, by and large.
Nothing would stand in the way of the Darts and a berth in the 6A semifinals, though.
Not the Titans, nor the weather.
With only four minutes remaining in the second of two overtime periods, Kaylee Felt corralled a free kick taken by teammate Belle Mark and sent it past Syracuse goalkeeper London Ewing and into the back of the net.
It was a game-winning golden goal, the first goal scored by Felt this season, and it gave Davis a 2-1 victory.
The score finished off a game-long rally for Davis, which fell behind early after a quick strike by Syracuse freshman Cortney Cobabe in the 10th minute.
“To come back from a goal down, contending with that wind, I don’t know how they did it,” Davis head coach Souli Phongsavath said. “It is a testament to the heart and grit that we have on this team, to be able to come back.”
The first step in the comeback came a mere nine minutes after Cobabe put Syracuse on top.
Davis midfielder Caroline Bitner was left all alone with the ball just outside the 18, and she took advantage of the opportunity and knotted the game at one goal apiece.
For much of the second half, Syracuse appeared primed to retake the lead, courtesy of goal scoring chances for the Deseret News’ reigning Ms. Soccer, Caroline Stringfellow, not to mention the Titans’ top goal scorer Ashlyn Hall and Cobabe.
Stringfellow had a particularly golden opportunity, created by her own technical ability, midway through the second half, but a diving stab by Davis goalkeeper Taygan Sill parried it away.
That, Sill’s goal-stopping ability, was a major storyline in the game and, really, has been one the entire season.
“That is normal for her,” Phongsavath. “She is only a sophomore and just keeps us in games. I’ve said time and time again, it doesn’t matter the classification or grade anyone is, she is hands down the best keeper in the state.”
Sill looked the part Thursday, especially in the final 36 minutes of the game as her play in goal enabled Davis to withstand shot after shot attempt from Syracuse, many from point blank range.
Then, when the Darts got their point-blank opportunity, with Felt in the box, they made good on it.
“I personally don’t know how they did it as a team,” Phongsavath said. “The goal we gave up was a goal I don’t think we should have given up, and then to come back and equalize, into the wind, was just fantastic. I can’t say enough for the grit and heart of this team.”
The win lifts Davis to its second consecutive 6A semifinals, after the Darts made it in 2018.
Davis has in fact made it to the semifinals, either 6A or 5A, in five of the last six years, and three of those seasons ended in a state championship.
The most recent stint of semifinal berths have been somewhat of a surprise, however, given the collective youth of the Darts, but once again they’ve found a way.
“I don’t know (how we keep making it),” Phongsavath said, with a shrug. “At Davis High, we have this very high standard that we try to live up to and the girls know that. With every team, we have the expectation that we are going to come out and compete and hopefully make some noise in the playoffs.”
With their victory over Syracuse, Davis has certainly achieved that goal this year and will have the opportunity to make even more noise Tuesday, Oct. 22, when they face No. 1 overall seed Pleasant Grove with a berth in the state championship game on the line.