Davis Legacy Soccer Club

On a night that saw heart trump physicality, Davis High captured the boys Sac-Joaquin Section soccer crown, beating nationally sixth-ranked Jesuit on penalty kicks, 7-5.

“So many times we’ve been outmatched on the field,” Blue Devil coach Ashley Yudin said after winning the school’s sixth regional crown. “(Saturday), I felt we had more heart and showed that we wanted it more.”

In regulation, DHS goals from Matt Austin at 11:45 and Tom Nolan at 72:21 offset tallies by Jesuit strikers Kaba Alkebulan (14:24) and Miguel DeSousa (40:49) to set up a scoreless-but-harrowing double overtime, which led to the PKs.

During penalty kicks, the Devils were perfect.

“The guys told (goalkeeper) Derek Pleasants, ‘Just save one: we’ll do the rest,’ ” Yudin recalled.

First, DHS defender Connor Anderson put his team briefly in the lead. Then Steven Guzman evened the score. Devil Jacob Weiss nailed his freebie, setting up the fateful stop by Pleasants.

Jesuit’s Dylan Wong was stuffed by the junior netminder and it was up to back-wall giant Emmanuel Medina to give the Davis fans another reason to cheer. When Medina scored, the Marauders knew they couldn’t miss again.

Michael Cordano kept Jesuit afloat, but Collin Holtz’s score meant Jesuit’s light was flickering.

Nikolaj Hansen tallied, setting up The Moment.

Enter senior Ben Slavich …

“It was just magical,” Yudin continued. “Here was a regular ol’ AYSO player. Never played comp teams. Wasn’t even a regular for us. Here he was, asked to win the game. It was huge … magical.”

Slavich sent the local faithful home on a cloud, his shot hitting the net seconds before his teammates mobbed him and the brilliant Pleasants.

While all this was going on, DHS team leader Ryan Gross sat on the bench, icing an ankle sprain that was made worse by a late hit.

“You have to love Ryan,” Yudin said. “Every day he shows up and puts this team on his shoulders. This team was driven by Ryan.

“Then there’s Jacob (Weiss). He’s outsized every blooming game and goes out and give it his all.

“(Saturday), Nolan gave us a big lift.”

After Jesuit came out strong in the beginning, the Blue Devils started to inch their way back into contention. After Hansen assisted on Alkebulan’s goal, Austin wasted no time taking a pass from Weiss while blazing down the south sideline and scoring.

Lee LeVerrier, Medina, Anderson and Jacob Rutheiser were holding sway on the backline for Davis, although Jesuit would hold a 19-13 shot advantage.

Trailing 2-1 late, the Blue Devils again used a Weiss feed that bounced off Gross, hit two Marauders and found its way to Nolan’s poaching foot. A one-hop serve into the right side of the net forced overtime.

In the initial OT period, Davis was on its heels and got outshot, 6-1. Pleasants — who had eight saves (some acrobatic) on the night — would record five turnaways in the first extra period.

Having survived that back-and-forth second overtime the schools entered the penalty-kick phase.

“I’m just blessed to have these wonderful kids,” Yudin continued. “Steve Smyte (DHS football coach) recently said it: ‘We coach, do all this, because you love it; love the kids.’

“These guys believed in themselves, worked hard and told themselves that they could do it — and they did!”

DHS finished the season 18-2-4, including a 1-1 tie at Jesuit earlier in the season when the Sacramento school was ranked No. 1 in the land. The Blue Devils, once again, received no votes in the Adidas Nov. 8 poll.