It was a rather dubious start to the varsity career of Mankato East sophomore goalkeeper Derrick Davis on Saturday. And it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Davis, who was playing in his first full varsity game since starting keeper Alex Finke suffered a broken leg, was patrolling the nets for the Cougars during their first-round Section 2A boys soccer playoff game against Waseca. About seven minutes into the contest, Waseca’s Patrick Flor sent a long kick from about midfield toward the net.

As Davis started drifting back, his shoe came off and he slipped down. By the time he recovered, the ball had crossed the goal line and Waseca had a 1-0 lead. That was the only goal Davis allowed, however, as the Class A ninth-ranked Cougars dominated from start to finish to earn a 6-1 victory at Thomas O. Anderson Fields.

“It was kind of fluke,” Davis said afterward. “I didn’t hang my head or anything. I just got back into the game. I knew our team had the firepower to come back and we did.”

Finke, who watched the game from the bench with his heavily bandaged leg propped up on a chair, said Davis did a good job in his first varsity start.

“I haven’t had to give him any pointers because he’s actually a more experienced goalie than I am,” Finke said. “He’s usually the one giving me pointers. He played goalie all year on JV and on all his summer teams.

“It’s a little frustrating not being able to play but I know the team is in good hands with Derrick at keeper. As long as we keep playing, I’m happy.”

East stopper Akram Mohamed said the only real difference with Davis in the net instead of Finke is communication.

“I have to be more vocal with him, keep him in the game,” Akram said. “You probably saw I kicked the ball back to him a few times. I want to keep him involved and help his confidence grow.”

East tied the game with just under four minutes to go in the half when Ewel sent a cross from the right side that glanced off Waseca’s Flor and angled into the net.

A minute later, Alex Welter picked the cross corner from just outside the goalie box and the flood gates opened.

Leading 2-1 at halftime, East upped the lead to 3-1 when Adam Mohamed found the net for an unassisted score. Brandon Welter took care of the rest of the scoring, netting three straight goals for the final 6-1 result. His final score came on a penalty kick.

“We’ve been behind before and come back,” Brandon Welter said afterward. “We knew if we just played our style we’d be fine. Once we went ahead 2-1 we were able to relax a little bit.”

Alex Welter finished with a goal and two assists. Adam Mohamed and Ewel also had assists. East outshot Waseca 8-3.

As for Davis, he said his only option is to do the best he can between the pipes the rest of the way.