Boys’ 5-6 Gold: Davis dominant in Pilot Cup
It was adrenaline more than necessity that kept Davis Magnet School Coach Keith Frainie animated and amped up on the sideline Sunday at Jack Hammett Sports Complex.
After his Ducks handled Whittier, 6-2, in the boys’ fifth- and sixth-grade Gold Division final of the Daily Pilot Cup, Frainie said his soccer players were so proficient, they needed nary a verbal cue to collect what he said was the school’s first Pilot Cup crown in the six years since Davis became a magnet school.
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“We have a very strong team,” Frainie said after his Ducks capped a 5-0 tournament run during which they outscored opponents, 25-8. “I felt like I could sit on the sideline and be quiet, even though I was a little vocal at times.”
The Ducks’ skilled, unselfish and determined play spoke perhaps more loudly than their coaches, including fired-up assistant Chris Ervey.
“It was fantastic soccer,” Frainie said. “We have a lot of skilled players and I’m just really proud of them. It’s really all about the players.”
Taylor Demarais had two goals and one assist and Trevor Trepas added a pair of goals for the winners, who seized a 2-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes and were ahead, 4-1, at halftime.
Trepas punched in a header off a corner kick from Dylan Oliver to open the scoring in the first minute and Demarais ran onto a through ball and dribbled deftly around the charging goalkeeper before easily depositing the ball into the net to double the advantage in the 10th minute.
After Whittier’s ubiquitous standout Cristian Adame collected a misguided clearing pass and popped it into the net to pull the Dolphins within 2-1 in the 19th minute, Trepas drove a 35-yard free kick over a helpless goalie and into the upper portion of the net to help the Ducks reestablish command.
Demarais converted an Edwin Ramirez corner kick into a goal seconds before halftime as the Ducks posted a 9-3 shot advantage in the first 30 minutes.
Whittier, which had allowed just three goals in its first four tournament games, including a pair of shutouts and a 5-2 semifinal win over Mariners Christian, held Davis scoreless the first 20 minutes of the second half. And Elmer Suarez scored on a driving 25-yard free kick to pull the Dolphins within 4-2 with 10 minutes remaining.
In the next three-plus minutes, Whittier mounted its most persistent attack, managing three shots against a Davis defense that was aggressive and active throughout.
But Whittier could not find the net and Demarais, who had most of the net to shoot at from about five yards in front, passed up his chance at a hat trick to deliver an unselfish assist to Ethan Ervy to add to the Davis lead in the 56th minute.
Ramirez found the net from about 20 yards out to finalize the scoring in the waning seconds and Davis finished with a 17-9 advantage in shots.
Whittier goalkeeper Jan Carlos Ceron wound up with seven saves, while Davis keeper Zach Fletcher had three.
Demarais totaled nine goals in the tournament, while Keith Frainie said Ethan Ervy and Ramirez wound up with approximately six apiece.
Davis slipped past Mariners in the semifinals by virtue of a 2-0 edge in penalty kicks after the two teams finished regulation deadlocked, 2-2. Fletcher stopped two penalty kicks, while Ramirez and John Casey converted their PKs in the semifinal win.
Additional contributors for Davis included Nolen Alonso, Rider Jackson, Ben Ervey, Cooper Steck, Miles Frainie and Owen Beaver. Nils-Hendrik Fuertes was sidelined by an injury.
Whittier’s 4-1 tournament run was also aided by Derek Jimenez, Kevin Soltero, Jose Ortiz, Justin Gallegos, Yamil Razo, Joshua Cervantes, Luis Irra, Steven Mendoza, Ivan Sanchez, Juan Carlos Sanchez, Alan Ramirez, Jesus Del Bosque, Esteban Guzman, Bryant Alvarez, Carlos Alcantara, Damian Banks and Sebastian Garduza.
The Dolphins were coached by Marcos Ibarra and assistant Alvin Salinas.