Fargo Davies boys soccer wins first state championship in program history
FARGO, N.D. (BVM) — It has been a long road for Fargo Davies, but a journey that started years ago has finally come to an end for the Eagles. Last month, they won their first state championship in program history against Fargo Shanley.
“The run that we made in the state championship started on that field four years prior, maybe five,” Davies head coach Ian Costello said.
In 2017, the Eagles made their first championship appearance but lost to Bismarck High. They then made it to the championship the next two years but also lost those games. After three straight years of being state runner-up, last year felt like it would be the turning point, but the Eagles missed the state championship game for the first time in three years, losing in the quarterfinals.
“It was a new experience for everyone,” Costello said.
But one that they could build off of. A majority of the team returned this year hungry to get back to the state tournament and it was apparent from the very beginning that the Eagles were going to be on a mission this season.
“That first week or two there was a vibe … it was pretty early on I knew I had something special,” Costello said.
Costello was right. Fargo Davies went undefeated during the season going 12-0-2 and winning the Eastern Dakota Conference. The team had a strong connection and they got great performances from Leon Hidanovic, who led the team in assists (7), Patrick Lawrence, who was second on the team in total points (22), and Savey Jones, who led the team in goals for the second year in a row.
With a veteran defense and strong goalkeeper in Esteban Nunez, the Eagles were able to have nine shutouts while scoring more than three goals in eight of their games.
However, their success at both ends of the field did not guarantee their journey to the playoffs was an easy one.
“We had our ups and downs all season, so it was relying a little bit on our past … it’s stay in the moment, stay focused, to some extent keep doing what you’re doing,” Costello said.
It was the type of lesson they needed in the playoffs if they were to finish the season with a win. After beating Bismarck 4-0, they gave up a goal within the first minute of their semifinal game against West Fargo Sheyenne. But that early goal was not enough to stop the Eagles, who took a 2-1 lead going into halftime. They then held off Sheyenne in the second half to secure their fourth trip to the state championship in five years.
In the state championship against Cinderella Fargo Shanley, the Eagles could not get the ball in the back of the net. Not in 80 minutes of regular time or two golden-goal overtimes, leading to PK shootout. In the shootout, neither team could get an edge over the other, and as they approached the ninth and tenth spots in the order, Costello went to his team and asked them a question.
“I just asked who wants it,” Costello said.
What followed was a goal after the ninth shot, a save by Nunez against Shanley’s ninth shooter and Sam Saye stepping in the 10th spot to give Fargo Davies its first state championship in program history.
A moment that none of them will ever forget and one that has been in the making for years. It’s a championship that spans multiple classes, and although some from the beginning of the journey may not even know those who finished, they are all connected in helping the Eagles get to this point.
“I learned something from them, from all the kids that go through and I try to implement those things into these newer players and it’s all connected,” Costello said.
Now that the journey for the first is over, the defense of their title and the journey for their second begins.
