Samantha Maudsley, driving into the box with 8:54 left, took full advantage of fellow senior Kate Willard’s cross to even the match at 3 goals apiece with a three-way Region 1 title on the line.

Hardly a minute later, region frontrunner Farmington retrieved the lead when Scarlett Jensen’s shot on goal took a hard bounce off Davis defender Jane Taylor and out of goalkeeper Cambell Christensen’s reach.

The late goal lifted Farmington over Davis 4-3 for the outright region title instead of a shared scenario with Davis and Layton, and the home stands poured onto the field following just the fourth regular-season loss for coach Dillon Richens and the Darts.

“Sometimes you can soak up momentum, other times it happens really fast. That’s just the nature of this game,” Richens said.

With two goals, Maudsley was one of 14 seniors leading the charge, her first tying the match 2-2 before halftime, and her second doing the same in the deep waters of the second half.

She didn’t sugarcoat Tuesday’s result.

Farmington’s (11-5, 6-3 Region 1) student section planted a literal flag in the center of the field following the win, but Maudsley knows the script includes more for Davis (12-4, 4-4) than contending for a region title.

“It was hard right when the whistle blew,” Maudsley said. “We’re kind of looking toward playoffs (now). Obviously we would’ve liked to win region, but state’s our ultimate end goal.”

Closing the regular season with a defeat, Davis is still likely to receive a first-round bye when the UHSAA reveals the 6A girls soccer bracket Saturday morning. A win Tuesday, though, would’ve certainly helped its resume and provided the Davis program with a share of its fourth region title since 2020.

Davis didn’t flinch in the face of a Braelyn Perrero goal, played off the corner by Morgan Snell, for an early 1-0 Farmington lead. Taylor finished another well-played ball off Makenna Couser, tying the match.

Before the half, Maudsley answered the Phoenix’s 2-1 lead acquired by Oaklee Stanford near the 11-minute mark.

Stanford slipped her second goal of the night past the senior Christensen, a softball transplant now filling a void for Davis on the pitch, roughly 5 minutes into the second half. Christensen kept the Phoenix off the scoreboard for 27 more minutes as part of the late standoff.

“She’s learning to grow in every game,” Richens said of Christensen. “We have confidence in her, we have confidence in anyone that needs to step into that role and we’re grateful for the contribution she provides.”

Denying Farmington of its “set pieces” — soccer jargon for any situation where a dead ball is made live again after a stoppage or foul, allowing the offense to set up — is where Maudsley felt Davis came up short to Farmington for the second time this season. The Phoenix snagged a 3-2 win in Kaysville last month when Davis took consecutive region losses to Farmington and Syracuse.

Such region matchups have tested this particular Davis senior class for four years now, Maudsley argues, and their tale isn’t over yet — not without one final say at state.

“This team is, really, all seniors,” Maudsley said. “We’ve been playing with each other for so long that we connect really, really well on the field and I know that when that chemistry comes together, ultimately, nobody can stop us.”

She continued:

“We’ve been dealing with a lot and I think, this year especially, we want to win a lot because we have so much to prove,” Maudsley said. “This senior class has been (good) for so long that we should be winning and we should come out on top.”

The first matches of the 6A girls soccer state championships kick off Tuesday, Oct. 13, at home sites; The quarterfinals, also at home, are slated for Thursday, Oct. 15.

The semifinal and final rounds are scheduled for Oct. 19-23 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.

Davis has six state titles dating back to 1995.

“It’ll be a motivator,” Richens said of Tuesday’s regular-season finale.

“It’s often said that people hate losing a lot more than they love winning. So, every loss sticks with you, but at the same time, we’re not playing any double-headers. We’re going to go to bed, we’re going to wake up, and we’re going to do it six more times before our next game.”

Connect with Standard-Examiner sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.