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Sandy • Soccer is called "the beautiful game."
Few Utah girls' teams have ever played it more beautifully than Davis this season.
The Darts completed a perfect season with a tougher-than-expected 1-0 victory over Weber on Friday night at Rio Tinto Stadium to successfully defend their 5A state championship.
This wasn't an easy run through the playoffs for the Darts. They needed overtime to beat American Fork in the quarterfinals, held off tough Fremont 1-0 in the semis and struggled at times against the Warriors.
Weber was the last team to beat Davis, the win coming on Oct. 10, 2014, when the two schools were both in Region 1.
Give the Warriors credit. They fought hard against the Darts, who were ranked sixth in the latest USA Today national high school girls' soccer poll.
"It's never easy," said Davis coach Souli Phongsavath. "I thought we might make it a little easier on ourselves and get a second one. We had plenty of chances to put the game away. If we got two, we'd be pretty comfortable. We controlled the game on their end. They didn't get dangerous very often on us."
The Darts made a goal by junior Mikayla Colohan at the 11-minute mark stand up as goalie Kendyl Baker helped the Darts record their 14th shutout of the season, making a couple of nice saves in a pressure-packed second half.
"Olivia [Wade] got the ball and I saw her make a break," said Colohan who, like Wade, is a BYU commit. "The whole team dropped to stop her. I just sat on the 18 and got the ball slotted back. I got a touch, lifted my head up and saw the ball go in the right side of the net."
The win ended the career of 10 seniors on a squad that outscored its opponents 109-8 this season.
"This has been the hardest year but it has been the best year by far because we have always been a close team," said senior leader Ireland Dunn. "We've always been just like a family. Something was different this year, though. We clicked from the start. It was the best season."
Some say this Davis squad could be the best girls' team in Utah history.
"That's for other people to decide," said Phongsavath. "A college coach told me they were the best team they had ever seen in Utah. The numbers don't lie."
Weber coach Felipe Diaz, whose team battled hard all night, called Davis the best team in the state.
"The quality of the players they have is unbelievable," he said. "I know most of the players because I have coached them on club. If I am not wrong, nine or 10 are already committed [to colleges]. They are a solid team with good players. That's why they are back-to-back champions."
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5A girls' soccer championship
R Davis completes a perfect 20-0 season by defending its 5A state championship.
• Mikayla Colohan scores the game's only goal at the 11-minute mark.
• Davis outscores its opponents 109-8 this season.