KAYSVILLE -- A season ago, the Davis High School soccer team made it to the state semi-finals before losing to eventual state champion Weber in an overtime shootout.This year, expectations might be a bit lower considering they lost 13 seniors and all but two starters from that 2004 squad."I'm excited about this season, but we have to be realistic," said Davis soccer coach Shawn Johnson.Davis has 10 seniors on this year's team, but only two with any varsity experience -- goalkeeper Tim Wiser and fullback Clayton Howell.Wiser came on in relief after the starting goalkeeper got injured and never relinquished his starting job.

Howell will be relied upon heavily for senior leadership.

"They've both been great for us," Johnson said.

Other than those two positions, Johnson said not one player has earned a starting job. In last week's win over Woods Cross, Davis emptied its bench early, trying to find a good combination for the upcoming region season.

"It's very difficult. I don't know how many players we used in that game. We're still trying to move players around," Johnson said.

In fact, Davis' lone goal in the preseason is to find players who will make an impact -- and that even trumps winning the game.

"Our main goal is to figure out who is going to play where."

As far as season goals, Johnson is keeping everything in perspective.The Darts play in Region 1 with Viewmont, Layton and Weber, all of which are state title contenders. For now, their goal is to just get better and be able to compete with those teams by the end of the year.

"At the end of the day, this team can be successful. This year we want to compete in every game and play hard," Johnson said.

"My goal for the program is to have quality players in all areas. Academics are just as important. I want Davis High School to be seen as having fair and honest players. We work hard to respect the game."

rriggs@davisclipper.com