Carson boys blank Damonte

RENO - Carson High entered Saturday's soccer match against Damonte Ranch expecting a tough game, and they weren't disappointed.

The Senators managed to stretch their win streak to two thanks to goals by Jason Martinez, Jon Guevara and Cristian Hernandez in a 3-0 win over the Mustangs in a Sierra League soccer match Saturday afternoon.

Carson is now 2-1 heading into Wednesday's showdown against arch-rival Douglas at 3:30 p.m. Damonte dropped to 1-2.

"I'm very happy," Carson coach Eric Masters said. "They are a tough side for us for whatever reason, and they are a very strong team. We've played them now three times (since Masters started last year) and this is probably the best game we've played by far.

"They put a lot of pressure on you. They play three forwards and they are good technique forwards. They want to play through the middle (offensively)."

Neither team exhibited much offense in the first 40 minutes, combining for six total shots on goal. Two of those opportunities, one by each team, came in the first three minutes of the contest.

Martinez gave Carson a 1-0 lead in the 10th, beating Damonte keeper Tyler Scott.

"That gave him confidence to keep going," Masters said.

Carson had one more good look before the half ended, while Damonte Ranch had two opportunities which it failed to convert, including a bullet over the crossbar by Jose Garcia.

The Senators came out aggressive in the second half, scoring twice in the first four minutes.

The first goal came from Hernandez, who has scored three times in the last two games. It was more about what Damonte didn't do than what Hernandez did.

Carson played a through ball that was touched by a Damonte defender which meant that Scott couldn't pick it up and had to kick it instead. He barely got his foot on it. Hernandez alertly chested the ball and then popped one over Scott's head for the score to make it 2-0.

"That was a miscommunication between the defender and the goalie," Damonte coach Leisha Martinez said. "The keeper called for it. The defender shouldn't have touched it. The keeper was planning on picking it up."

Guevara capped the scoring with a 20-yarder in the 55th minute.

Meanwhile, Carson's defense played well. Keeper Gustavo Villagrana played nearly the entire game and had two saves. The defense was helped by the return of Michael Samii, the returning Sierra League Defensive Player of the Year. Samii had missed the first two games with an ankle injury.

"It was his first game of the year, and he was a little overanxious at times," Masters said. "He's so solid back there. He's good at reading and using angles. The team likes to have him out there because they can count on them."

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