The stands were lively as a raucous crowd was on hand at Dodd Stadium to witness the first NPSL action for both Davis and Napa in 15 months.
The two sides did not disappoint, battling for 90+ minutes in a thriller that saw Davis take home three points off a late winner.
The match began as expected, with both teams shaking off some rust while feeling out their opponents. After 25 minutes, the game exploded into life with both sides creating chances.
Davis was first to get on the scoreboard when Caua Soares drew a penalty for the Lions after Wumi Aladetimi weaved his way through three Napa Valley defenders and slotted a pass to the Brazilian who was brought down in the box.
Onah Power stepped up to take the penalty for Davis who was given two chances to hit the back of the net. Powers first shot was saved, but the Napa goalkeeper was far off his line prior to the shot being taken and was flagged by the assistant referee.
When given a second chance, Power made no mistake and put the Lions up 1-0 going into halftime.
The second half began with Davis creating a flurry of chances, none of which found the back of the net. Then against the run of play, Napa was able to secure the ball deep in the Lions half of the field, slot a through ball and find the back of the net with an unstoppable off angle shot.
After the goal, the tide was with Napa.
"The momentum shifted in the second half, but our defense held strong," said FC Davis net-minder Jonathon Laughlin, who made key saves through out the second half. "We kept fighting, were able to capitalize on a set piece and find the goal we needed."
That goal was provided by center back Jaime Robles, who found the back of the net off a corner taken by Caua Soares which sealed the game for the Lions with only minutes remaining.
"It was a hard fought match," said FC Davis midfielder Caua Soares. "There is still room to improve, but I'm proud of the guys for sticking together and grinding out the win away from our fans."
FC Davis captain Onah Power had similar sentiments. "We've been working hard at training to build chemistry," said Power. "The future is bright if we keep playing as a unit."
The Lions next match will be June 12th at 7:00pm in a closed door game at home due to Yolo county COVID restrictions.
Fans will be allowed at Playfields for the first time in 2021 for the Causeway Clasico against Sacramento Gold on Saturday, June 26th at 7:00pm.
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