Blue Devils leave Pleasant Grove in the cold on Senior Night

By Mattias Apse,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

The Davis High men’s soccer team narrowly edged out a 1-0 win against Pleasant Grove on Senior Night on Feb. 13.

Before the game, senior Sebastian Alvarado was confident that the Blue Devils would win.

“[Pleasant Grove] is a team we’ve already beat, and we have more players,” Alvarado said.

The game started at 5:30 p.m. with mild weather and high spirits. In the first two minutes, Davis put the pressure on Pleasant Grove and looked to goal to find weaknesses in its defense.

For the remainder of the first half, Davis kept possession for the majority of the time, leaving junior and goalie Jonah Henrickson with an easy job.

Although the first half was fairly uneventful, junior Aaron Mayr came back on the field after six weeks of recovery from a concussion.

By the second half, the game became more tense as the temperature dropped to hand-numbing levels and Pleasant Grove’s defense remained impenetrable.

Pleasant Grove became more confident and took on a more aggressive strategy, putting the pressure on Davis.

Coach Alex Park noted senior Kieran Swenson’s crucial defensive plays during the second half.

“If we didn’t stay on top of our defense 100 percent of the time, the game would be over,” Swenson said.

Henrickson made a crucial save at the 43-minute mark. Both teams became more desperate for a shot as the game dragged on into overtime.

After several foiled shots, senior Kailas Dhond made the standout play of the game, shooting the only goal and clinching the victory for Davis with less than a minute left on the clock.

Although Park was satisfied with the victory, he hopes that “Davis will score more goals” in the upcoming playoffs.

The victory was key for the Blue Devils, who will now play at least two rounds of the playoffs on the home field.