Kian Bagheri, one of Davis High’s tri-captains, knew his comrades had just played a heckuva soccer match.

But the veteran midfielder is a realist. He also knew the Blue Devils had just let a statement game get away.

In tying visiting power Grant, 0-0, at Yudin Field on Thursday afternoon, the defending section champion Devils outshot, out-cornered and outplayed the 9-2-1 Pacers. They even scored a phantom goal and, when the final whistle blew, Alex Herman was alone on the left — charging one-on-one with the Grant goalie … his efforts unrequited.

“We played well. We’ve been playing well. This (game) was definitely a step in the right direction. But we’re not happy with the result,” Bagheri explained. “Next time, we just have to go to Grant and get that result.”

While a tie with the tremendously improved Pacers would be an accomplishment for most squads, Bagheri admitted his teammates left with a sense of disappointment:

“We definitely played better (Thursday). Overall we had the majority of the possession. We had three or four golden opportunities, but we didn’t put the ball away. But that’s soccer …

“We’ll come back next time against Grant. You can be sure we’ll put them away.”

While taking 13 official shots, it was the one at 15:23 that wasn’t recorded that stuck in the craw of the local fans.

DHS’ Cameron Cuvelier worked the ball to Collin Holtz, who found D.J. Villegas wide open on the left side. Villegas had floated to the net earlier, but came back to re-establish onside. Villegas moved on his defender, then fired, finding the back of the net.

A Grant player — after the fact — appealed to the assistant referee. A second Pacer complained and three heartbeats after the ball stopped bouncing, the offsides flag went up.

“That was a goal,” Davis interim coach Alex Park told The Enterprise. “Simply, a goal.”

Luckily, high school soccer isn’t the NFL, so it’s doubtful there will be fines for either Park or Bagheri, who also thought the officiating was sketchy. But Bagheri and Park agree that the Blue Devils can’t be taken out of their rhythm by whistles and suspect judgment.

“We just have to play through that, the officiating. It’s something we talked about,” Park added.

DHS couldn’t take advantage of eight corner kicks and survived a scare late in the game when Pacer forward Manuel Salvadore Amezcua shook loose from a traffic jam in front of the Devil goal and let fly …

Keeper Derek Pleasants had redirected the action, but was out of goal when Amezcua shot. Fortunately, according to Park, the ball hit Blue Devil defender Jacob Rutheiser square and Davis was able to clear.

Brilliant backline defense by Lee LeVerrier, Connor Anderson, Alexander Nelson and Rutheiser negated the hummingbird-like play of Grant’s standout attacker Jorge Jimenez.

Midfielders, especially Bagheri on this day, helped keep the ball in DHS’ zone and Pleasants made a handful of smart decisions to leave the goal and challenge free balls.

The first-half pace was playoff-worthy before exhaustion set in and both coaches substituted liberally in the final 40 minutes.

Yet, with the teams spent and the clock winding down, Davis was short-changed on its final salvo.

Holtz corralled a bad Grant pass, moved it through Pacer traffic and sent a strike to Herman — who was charging the net unattended. It was surely going to be a one-on-one with GHS keeper Rafael Gutierrez, but — with Herman in midstride — the official blew the game-ending whistle.

Observers whined and DHS players wondered … usually an offensive play close to the goal is allowed to take its course before officials blow the whistle.

Not so on a solid-but-frustrating afternoon for the Blue Devils (6-3-3).

Notes: Second-year Grant coach Alex Gutierrez has turned things around for the Pacers. After a dismal 2010, GHS went 19-3-3 last fall. Gutierrez is a former Jesuit High standout and Davis resident who played for Legacy club teams. … “We know now how to play Grant,” offered Park. “We had the ball in the air too much. We need to keep the ball on the deck. Their one player got to everything, cleared it out, when it was in the air.” That “one player” was senior defender captain Edgar Cazares. … The Devils next entertain Laguna Creek on Tuesday (4 p.m.).

— Reach Bruce Gallaudet at [email protected] or (530) 747-8047.

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DHS’ Alex McIntyre jumps over a Grant defender on a run upfield during a scoreless tie between the host Blue Devils and the Pacers on Thursday. Wayne Tilcock/Enterprise photo

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