×
×
homepage logo
SUBSCRIBE

6A championship: Davis boys soccer stunned by Herriman goal with 2 seconds left

By Patrick Carr - Standard-Examiner | May 25, 2022
1 / 4
Davis' Ashton Bond, top, consoles teammate Miles Iverson after the 6A boys soccer state championship game against Herriman on Wednesday, May, 25, 2022 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
2 / 4
Davis High boys soccer players after a 1-0 loss to Herriman in the 6A boys soccer state championship game against Herriman on Wednesday, May, 25, 2022 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
3 / 4
Davis' Miles Iverson (10) looks to pass the ball against Herriman during the 6A boys soccer state championship game against Herriman on Wednesday, May, 25, 2022 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
4 / 4
Davis High boys soccer players after a 1-0 loss to Herriman in the 6A boys soccer state championship game against Herriman on Wednesday, May, 25, 2022 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

SANDY — Before Wednesday evening’s 6A boys soccer state championship game, the Davis High boys soccer seniors — and some players’ siblings — partook in a rare, on-field graduation ceremony at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Forty-five miles north at the Dee Events Center, Davis High’s graduation ceremony was taking place at 5 p.m., the exact same time.

So the 20 seniors walked out of the tunnel and onto the sideline in front of their parents and Davis fans. One by one, they received a diploma, then threw their caps into the air, threw their caps and gowns off and returned to pregame warmups in their soccer uniforms.

It’s probably going to be one of the only happy memories from that day.

In a stunning conclusion to the boys soccer season, No. 18 Herriman completed an improbable state championship run with a goal by junior Trevor Walk two seconds before the end of regulation, sending the Davis players to the turf in disbelief at what was essentially a buzzer-beating goal.

The players didn’t stand up when the game restarted with two seconds showing on the clock. Then came the final whistle, and No. 5 Davis’ season was over just like that, 1-0 against the Mustangs.

“It took a lot to get here and we worked really hard. It just hurts. There’s nothing more to say. It’s just hard,” Davis senior Luke Bitner said.

Bitner was one of 17 seniors on the boys soccer team who partook in the pregame graduation ceremony, which happens more commonly in the state baseball and softball tournaments.

The only sounds breaking up the silence as Davis (13-5) players processed the game were that of Herriman’s celebration on the other end of the stadium and the occasional sniffle from the Darts’ bench.

“I just said there’s nothing I’m going to say that’s going to make them feel any better,” Davis coach Souli Phonsavath said. “It’s a tough way to lose, especially the way we lost that. I’m super proud of them. I would’ve been regardless of whether we won or lost.”

The goal happened after a throw-in with 10 seconds remaining; PA announcer Jeff Reeves had already started the over-the-air countdown.

Walk got the ball, sped down the left side, cut in and rocketed a right-footed shot past Davis goalkeeper Jude Walker.

“He just got around everyone, and it was just really fast. It happened so fast, I don’t even — it was just really quick,” Bitner said.

The game’s first notable moment didn’t happen until the 54th minute when Davis’ Miles Iverson poked a rebound into the net at the far post and went all the way to the corner to celebrate — right in front of the assistant referee holding his flag up, indicating Iverson was offside.

In the 59th minute and again in the 74th, Davis goalkeeper Jude Walker made good saves in two dicey situations to keep the score 0-0.

Davis did have a few set-piece chances in the second half, but none of them produced any clear-cut goalscoring chances.

Such were the margins of a state championship soccer game, as is customary for title games on the wider grass field at Rio Tinto Stadium.

“That’s what I told them, that this has a 1-0 game written all over it and unfortunately that’s the way it was,” Phongsavath said.

After the final whistle, Walk ran to the Davis student section and raised his hands to try — unsuccessfully — and get a cheer out of the Darts’ fans, who subsequently booed him and his teammates who had joined him.

Davis came into the state tournament as somewhat of a darkhorse instead of a “pre-tournament favorite,” which was more reserved for No. 1 Weber, No. 2 Corner Canyon and No. 3 Bingham. So there was plenty for the Darts to be happy about in getting to the title game 10 years after they last did so.

For Herriman, there was plenty of disbelief in the victory, which was soaked in irony.

The Mustangs had arguably the best team in the state in both 2017 and 2018, then lost in the state title game on penalties both years (2017 against Layton and 2018 against Pleasant Grove).

This year’s title came out of nowhere as the long-shot Mustangs went 5-8 in the regular season, then upended the Nos. 2, 5, 6 and 7 seeds en route to the championship trophy.

Newsletter

Join thousands already receiving our daily newsletter.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)