With two of the top defenses in the Northern 4A facing off against each other, it was a given there wasn't going to be much scoring Wednesday night.
It was just a matter of which team was going to find an opportunity they could capitalize on first.
It was Brian Duran's direct kick from 15 yards out that seperated top-ranked Carson and Douglas Wednesday night as Carson picked up a 1-0 win in Minden.
"We knew coming down with these two defenses that it was going to be a 1-1, 1-0 game," Brigham said. "It was just a question of who it was going to be."
Duran's goal came in the 20th minute when he played the ball sharply on the ground and Douglas' entire defensive wall left its feet in anticipation of an aerial shot. The jump blocked Tiger keeper Ivan Gonzalez's view just enough so that the ball trailed right past him to the far post.
"It was just a lapse," Vasquez said. "We stressed to our defenders not to make silly mistakes, not to push people from behind. We can't be giving people like Brian Duran, who are excellent players, a chance to do something in a game like this.
"We had our chances, it's all about capitalzing. We didn't do it. They did."
Other than Duran's direct kick, the Douglas defense of Brian Randall, Fernando Ramos, Gavin Fitzhugh and Rafael Alves mostly kept Carson away from the net.
As far as scoring chances go, Douglas had the advantage on the whole, thanks in large part to the narrower field dimensions at Keith "Duke" Roman Field that allowed the Tigers to throw the ball in from the sidelines to nearly the middle of the net when they were deep in Senator territory.
"They have two kids that can really get the ball in there," Brigham said. "Every time they had a throw in, it was dangerous. On a normal field, you have another 10 yards to get that ball in."
The two most promising chances for the Tigers came on nearly identical plays about 40 minutes apart.
In both instances, Cole Cline delivered a throw-in from the right side that Edgar Arceo was able to get his head on while the ball was still in the air. Both shots sailed wide to the near post.
Douglas was able to get the ball inside the penalty box with numbers several times late in the game but the Senators' superb back line of Uriel Duran, Nate Enge, Guiellermo Alonso, Jorge Guevara and Brian Duran was contiuously able to clear the ball away before the Tigers could get a solid shot on Carson keeper Pedro Chavez.
"We've got the same starting four that were with us last year," Brigham said. "This is their second year together. They communicate well. They work very well together and they are very disciplined."
Brigham said he was particularly pleased with how his team handled Douglas' top goal-scorer, Edgar Arceo.
"Edgar got away in the middle several times during the game, but either our backs stepped up and closed him down or our middies tracked back on him," Brigham said. "Our boys did a good job closing the space down and not allowing those opportunities."
Vasquez agreed.
"Those guys know how to play," he said. "They marked Edgar off very well. He can handle himself 1 on 3 in most games, but Carson's three are pretty good players. That was the difference."
Carson immproved to 7-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in Sierra League play. Douglas dropped to 6-4-2 overall and 3-2-1 in league.
