Devils play like girls possessed at Terra Linda

In sports where the ball can go up and down the field quickly, it’s often said that good defense leads to good offense. That is definitely true on the pitch, but as the Davis High girls soccer team showed on Tuesday, it can also go the other way around.

In a 7-0 victory at Terra Linda, the Blue Devil offense was clicking, and possession heavily favored the locals. This made the job of the dynamic DHS defense even easier.

“We did a good job initially possessing the ball,” said second-year Devil coach Sara Stone. “They got kind of frustrated and had a hard time getting organized and we took advantage of that.”

According to Stone, the San Rafael squad didn’t get the ball past the midline more than “four or five times” all game.

The offensive explosion was exactly what the coach was looking for after the defense carried DHS to a 3-2 record in the season-opening St. Mary’s Tournament last weekend.

Five different Blue Devils scored against the Trojans, with sophomore Sophia Hernandez and freshman Gabriela Herrera netting two apiece.

“What we have been working are ways to get to the goal and be dangerous,” Stone said. “And not with one-on-one plays, but with the whole team. That’s why it was nice to have so many different people score.”

Clara Goin scored the first Davis tally and Hernandez’s double had the locals ahead 3-0 at the half. After the break, Kalani Ratnasiri got into the act with a goal, Jaha McClean found the net and Herrera scored her two.

Devil assists came from Hernandez, Goin, Kylie Tierney, Makenzie Delaughder and Ju-A Son.

DHS hosts Will C. Wood on Thursday at 7 p.m. in its home opener.