The opponent wasn’t chopped liver.

West Campus, a magnet satellite school of Hiram Johnson High, is the Division V defending Sac-Joaquin Section champion.

When the Warrior girls came to town Friday night, it was with the expectation to win the soccer game against the Blue Devils.

For 10 minutes, coach Rogelio Rubio’s squad gave as good as it got.

But once DHS midfielder Emily Gao’s thunderbolt hit the left upright, the game turned – Davis eventually cruising to a 4-0 nonleague victory at Yudin Field.

“They’re a good team,” Devil coach Sara Stone said of her 12-2 visitors. “I’m really proud of our defense. I’m pleased with the shutout, too.”

That said, the first-year varsity coach must be all smiles these days. In running its record to 14-1, Davis recorded its 13th clean sheet of the spring.

Despite the back-and-forth nature early in the contest, West Campus – thanks to a relentless Blue Devil attack and the always strong back-line combinations of Dana Granger, Kylie Tierney, Megan Casey, Jenna Farbound, Kate Latsch and Lindsay Stebbins – was held in check.

While the locals were launching 21 shots, the Warriors were afforded zero attempts. Including an 8-0 whitewash of Monterey Trail on Thursday, Davis hasn’t allowed a shot on goal in more than 156 minutes.

On a natural surface, made soft by recent rains, the Devils nonetheless had little problem circulating the ball.

Their efforts finally paid off at 34:22 when Hannah Mazet took an Olivia Muller pass, chaperoned the ball through a jumble of defenders in the box and pushed it past keeper Nancy Pacheco.

The goal was the fruit of a strategy change by Davis, which switched to a three-forward attack halfway through the period.

If West Campus had a glimmer of hope, trailing only 1-0 at intermission, the defending D-I section queens quickly put the kibosh on impending Warrior confidence.

In the 43^rd minute, Sarah Chase worked a corner kick, taken by Muller.

The midfielder’s feed to Anna Maria Gilbertson was turned over to Jenna Farboud, whose high, right-foot swing buried the ball for a 2-0 advantage.

Four minutes later, Muller – after another corner – and Ari Heyer worked a slick give-and-go that resulted in Muller finding Mazet again. This time, Mazet’s header accounted for her third goal in two games.

From there, Stone had a cushion to try new combinations, reward players like Granger and Tierney with some playing time closer to the goal and work on passing.

When Kalani Ratnasiri sped to a loose ball in the 73^rd minute, she was able to turn right, split two West Campus backs and tally Davis’ final goal of the evening.

“We changed the game plan a little bit,” Stone told The Enterprise about moving to three attackers on the front line. “But our defenders can handle (that).”

The back line is only part of the story as to why DHS has allowed just two goals in 2011. The constant offensive pressure that the Blue Devils keep on their opponents allows for few chances the other way.

In addition to the 21 shots, Davis had six corner kicks, of which two led to scores. From the eighth minute through the final four minutes, the Devils had the ball 80 percent of the time.

“Our possession was good overall. We just hustled and deserved those four goals,” Stone added.

Davis gets a week away from competition, thanks to spring break. The following week, the Blue Devils get three games in three days. A road game at Elk Grove renews Delta Valley Conference play on April 10. Then Inderkum is in town for an April 11 nonleague match and Franklin is here the following day.

Notes: Makenzie DeLaughder (knee) sat out Friday’s win, as did Courtney Jimenez (ill). …West Campus and Davis had two common opponents coming in: Stagg and Monterey Trail. The Warriors won by 5-0 and 3-0 scores, respectively, while the Devils took them both out, 8-0. …Under Rubio, West Campus is 103-14-14 since 2007 and in addition to last year’s crown, won the 2010 D-IV title. …Hannah Gendron played the whole game in goal for DHS. Maddy Purves was out of town.

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

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Blue Devil Anna Maria Gilbertson splits two West Campus players in Friday’s nonleague match. Davis High won the contest 4-0. Wayne Tilcock/Enterprise photo

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