The Golden Lions fell just short of rivals Sacramento Gold in the Lion’s home opener Saturday night at Davis High’s Ron and Mary Brown Stadium. Despite the 2-1 loss, Davis can take encouragement from their strong play, in the tightly contested affair.
Davis dominated large portions of the game, striking first in the 18th minute through striker Elijah Alba whose incisive run in behind the defense and fierce shot gave the Golden Lions an early lead. Gold began applying pressure of their own, however, eventually finding the net in the 40th minute to send the teams into halftime even.
Davis started the second period on the front foot, dominating possession and creating several promising chances as the game was played almost exclusively in the away side’s half. The beautiful football on display briefly turned ugly as tempers flared between the cross-causeway rivals and a small scuffle broke out resulting in three yellow cards.
The Lions continued to press for a winning goal, with Bennett Olsen-Zwick hitting the post and later forcing the opposing keeper into several impressive saves. In the end, it was Sacramento Gold who found the breakthrough, scoring against the run of play to take an 80th-minute lead. Davis fought hard in the final minutes but couldn’t manage a late equalizer.
The Golden Lions will look to take down 1st place El Farolito in their May 20th matchup at UC Davis Dairy Complex.
By Dylan Ehlers