MINDEN -- Coming into the 2002 girls soccer season, Carson and Douglas had played 23 games against each other and none of them have been decided by more than two goals. That all changed on Tuesday as four different Tigers scored in a convincing 4-0 win over the Senators at Douglas High.
Carson (0-2-1 overall, 0-2 Sierra League), which is still looking for its first win of the year, hasn't scored a goal in two games. Douglas, meanwhile, has rebounded nicely from its season opening loss to Reed, and now improves to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Sierra League.
"The experience from Douglas was obvious," Carson coach Mike Popp said. "We lost seven starters from last year's team and it showed. I was expecting Douglas to dominate us and they did. I think Douglas is the team to beat this year."
Tiger coach Fred Schmidt, never one to rub anything in, knew the Senators would be overmatched. But he thinks that when the two teams meet again on Oct. 12 in Carson City, things will be different.
"They've got a young team and they're rebuilding," Schmidt said of Carson, which lost to Reno 3-0 on Saturday. "You know what, though? They're going to a lot better by the end of the year after playing together more. We expect the game at the end of the year to be a typical rival game with Carson."
Douglas now leads the overall series between the schools 13-4-7, but it hadn't beaten the Senators in two years before yesterday's game. The two teams have combined to win the past two Northern 4A championships and are the two winningest programs in Northern Nevada since soccer become a sanctioned sport in 1992.
"We have an advantage (overall vs. Carson) but every game has been close," Schmidt said. "I always assume a Carson game to be a tie, or a one-goal game. We took no comfort in the Reno score or the McQueen score (3-3 tie)."
Even though they came into the game without a win, the Senators were in control early on. In the 20th minute, Carson nearly went up 1-0 but Stephanie Giomi's shot bounced off the stomach of Douglas goalie Andrea Bryant and the Tigers eventually cleared. Offensively, that was it for the Senators.
Douglas scored its first goal in the 31st minute when Jessica Brady distributed the ball nicely out wide to Allison Chapman, who then beat Allie Otto with a driven shot to the far post. Over a minute later, Otto denied a Krysten Bartsche inside the box, but the ball ended in front of Bartsche again, who scored on her second attempt to make it 2-0.
"We have to be more creative," Schmidt said. "We're working on our possession game. By the end of the first half, everything opened up. The kids saw the reward of playing more patiently."
Douglas outshot Carson 9-1 in the first 20 minutes of the second half and two goals came out of it. In the 52nd minute, Molly Hernandez scored on a 30-yard chip that tipped Otto's fingers before hitting the bar and landing inside the goal. Then in the 59th minute, Tracey Hawks, who's been voted the Sierra League's midfielder of the year the past two years, scored the final goal.
"We knew our inexperience would be the thing that is going to kill us (this year)," Popp said. "We still have a lot of things to work through but we're getting better."
Carson should have an easier game next Tuesday, when it plays Hug. Douglas' game next week is against South Tahoe, which also has hopes of winning the league title.
SULPRIZIO UPDATE
Ashley Sulprizio, Douglas' goalie when it won the 2000 Northern 4A championship, is now playing at the University of California-Berkeley. Sulprizio was at Nebraska last season but was granted her release from the Cornhuskers in July, according to coach Fred Schmidt. The release allowed Sulprizio to be eligible to play this season instead of having to sit out the year.
Sulprizio has started three of four games this year for the Golden Bears (3-1), who are ranked No. 7 in the nation in this week's NSCAA poll. She posted shutout victories in wins over Ohio State and Purdue to start the season.
Allison Kop, a three-year starter for Carson, has started all three games for Saint Mary's this season. Kop and the Gaels, who are 1-3 this season, play Sulprizio and the Golden Bears on Sunday at noon in Moraga, Calif.
