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Kaysville • Unbeaten, untied and nationally ranked Davis had every reason to panic Thursday in the Darts' 5A girls' soccer state tournament quarterfinal against American Fork.
Olivia Wade, who had scored a third of Davis' goals, was away training with the U.S. National Under 17 team. In 16 games this season, the top-ranked Darts had never had a game go into overtime like this one. And Cavemen goalie Savanna Empey was making acrobatic save after acrobatic save.
But Davis had one thing American Fork didn't have. That was the imposing figure of returning 5A most valuable player Ireland Dunn.
And so it was no surprise that as time was running out in the first overtime, Dunn dribbled through the Cavemen defense and buried a kick into the right side for the golden goal that gave the Darts a thrilling 2-1 victory.
"We didn't have a lot of time," said Dunn. "Coach said that if it came to my side to dribble it in."
It was a beautiful play worthy of one of the state's top players that came at a time when young American Fork, with only two seniors on its roster, was rallying behind Empey's diving saves that included one on a penalty kick late in regulation.
"That was more crazy than we'd like," said Dunn, a Utah commit, who said the Cavemen were "by far the best team we've played."
Davis grabbed a 1-0 lead late in the first half when Megan Rowe drove the ball past Empey on the right side. The Darts were the aggressors and, though they weren't scoring, appeared to have things under control.
But American Fork came out aggressively in the second half, missing some good early opportunities before Sophie Stewart took a beautiful pass from Kelsie Cook five minutes in to tie it.
From that point forward, it was a tense battle.
With just over two minutes left in regulation, Davis got a huge break when Kaylee Coolibar got a penalty kick. But Empey guessed right and blocked it, sending the Darts into their first overtime of the year.
"That was really tough," said Davis coach Souli Phongsavath. "There are not many teams that can lose a player with 30 goals, one-third of our season total, and take it to the semifinals. That shows the depth and heart of our girls."
He said that the Darts three one-goal games this season came when Wade, who will return for Tuesday's semifinal game against unbeaten Fremont, was training with the national team.
"I always knew they would be tough," said the Davis coach. "But we did not have our best game. We battled through that…We have not had a lot of games like this. Adversity is good."
First-year American Fork coach Derek Dunn said his girls had wanted to play Davis since early in the season to see how they would compete. He praised his team for being close friends and having no drama during the season.
"I am so proud of our girls," he said.
Storylines
R Ireland Dunn scores the golden goal to keep top-ranked Davis alive for its second straight 5A title.
• Sophie Stewart scores American Fork's lone goal as the Cavemen get a big game from goal keep Savanna Empey.
• Megan Rowe scores Davis first goal. —
Schedule
Class 5A
Tuesday
Fremont 6, Herriman 2
Davis 2, American Fork 1 (OT)
Lone Peak 2, Mt. Crest 0
Weber 2, Lehi 0
Tuesday (
At Juan Diego
Davis vs. Fremont, 3:45 p.m.
Weber vs. Lone Peak, 6 p.m.
Class 4A
Thursday
Box Elder 2, Timpview 2 (Box Elder wins shootout)
Timpanogos 2, East 0
Skyline 1, Woods Cross 1 (Skyline wins shootout)
Wasatch 1, Alta 0
Tuesday's Schedule
At Juan Diego
Timpanogos vs. Box Elder, 11 a.m.
Skyline vs. Wasatch, 1:15 p.m.