This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If there is such thing as a close blowout, Skyline's win against Olympus on Tuesday is it.
The Eagles, who entered the game ranked fourth in Class 4A after winning the state championship last season, did everything in their power to allow the overpowered Titans to remain in the game before breaking through in the 71st minute, then again in stoppage time, to escape with a 2-0 home win.
"One thing they know is they cannot quit. They have to keep playing," said Skyline coach Yamil Castillo. "The competition, especially Olympus, is going to bring their best game against us. It took determination, just shooting, shooting, shooting until we found the back of the net."
After a great pass split the defense in the 14th minute, Skyline sailed an uncontested attempt over the crossbar. Two minutes later, nearly an identical scenario, with the Eagles overshooting an empty net again. Then after another scoring opportunity slipped through its fingers, Skyline missed consecutive free kicks, including one which hit the post in the 59th minute and the ensuing rebound was fired high.
"Olympus is a good team. They're never going to come flat," Castillo said. "A lot of those kids play in the same clubs together, they live in the same neighborhood. There is competition."
Two more shots failed to find the back of the net in the 63rd minute and three minutes later on a fast break attempt. The majority of the kicks were either uncontested or with an advantage in numbers.
Finally, in the 71st minute, senior Devin Zebelean broke the scoreless deadlock when the ball popped loose from a scramble at the edge of the box. It landed squarely in her wheelhouse, and she pocketed the goal in the left corner.
"It was like slow motion," said Zebelean. "I saw the ball in front of me and I was like, 'You can't mess this up.' I just shot and it went in. … It's the best feeling in the world. I just look around and everyone is running to me. It's even better because it's the rival game, and who doesn't want to win their rival game?"
Freshman Taliana Kaufusi added the second goal during stoppage time to keep the Eagles' (8-1, 6-0) Region 6 record spotless. The Titans fell to 5-4-1 and 4-2 in region play.
"I think we were able to stay positive because we were so motivated," Zebelean said. "The fact we had so many shots we kept missing kind of added up to our excitement. We had so many shots we should have made today."
Davis back atop the national rankings
After being awarded the mythical national championship by USA Today last season, the top-ranked Darts are ranked currently No. 1 nationally by the same publication. Davis won its 34th consecutive game on Tuesday with a 2-0 shutout against Layton, and the Darts have outscored 10 opponents this season by an aggregate 65-3.
Davis can establish the longest winning streak in UHSAA history with three more wins against Granger, West and Hunter. The Darts would have to not lose for the remainder of the season and the first round of the playoffs to break Mountain View's record of 40 games without a loss.
Twitter: @trevorphibbs