Douglas High remained unbeaten in Northern 4A soccer, but coach Lorraine Fitzhugh had some issues with her team's offensive execution.
"It (the game) was all right," said Fitzhugh after the Tigers improved to 12-0 with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Carson. "You can't be too unhappy. We beat our rival and we kept our shutout.
"We needed to connect better. We have some work to do. Our rhythm was off. The aggressiveness that Carson plays with can throw us off our game, but we expect to overcome that."
Douglas' job was made much easier by the fact that Kenzie Tillitt, Carson's best player and one of the best midfielders in Northern Nevada, didn't play because of a concussion suffered on Saturday against Hug. She collided with a Hug player and suffered a nasty cut above her eyebrow. She has to pass a concussion test before she is allowed to return.
"She gives us a lot of energy in the midfield," Carson coach Randy Roser said. "Kenzie is really good on slotted balls.
"I thought we played really well. We're where we need to be. We have a young team. Our focus needs to be on finishing the ball. Josilyn (Daggs) had a few opportunities."
In fact, Roser wouldn't come out and directly say it, but you could tell that he thought Daggs should have been credited with a game-tying goal late in the first half.
The shot came in the 37th minute. Daggs' shot hit the crossbar and appeared to drop straight down.
"When you see the net move ...," Roser said, his voice tailing off.
That was Carson's best chance of the game. The Senators, who had seven first-half shots, had just three shots in the second half. Douglas out-shot Carson 16-10.
The Tigers' second goal came in the 56th minute, as Tia Lyons rifled a shot that appeared to go off the hands of Carson goalie Emmy Heller, who finished with eight saves.
Douglas scored what ended up being the game-winning goal six minutes into the match.
A Douglas player crossed the ball into the penalty box area, and there was some confusion among the Carson players, and Lexie Weaver shot one past Heller for a 1-0 lead.
"It was a ricochet that popped out," Fitzhugh said. "Lexie was really aggressive on that. She really wanted it."
In the 37th minute, Lyons missed wide left. Three minutes later, Douglas' Caitlyn Jones was whistled for a foul on Michelle Sandage just outside the penalty box. Carson fans were screaming for a penalty box to no avail. Sandage's direct kick was easily stopped by Bri Randall, who also had eight saves on the night.
