Senior forward Octavio Virrueta drives towards the goal in a game against the Bishop Manogue Miners at Carson High Wednesday night.
Two minutes into Wednesday’s game against Bishop Manogue, Carson High had four scoring opportunities on the same attack. It set the tempo for the rest of the match.
The Senators peppered the Manogue goal throughout the match, and walked away with a critical 6-1 Sierra League victory over the Miners at the Jim Frank Track & Field Complex.
The win boosted Carson to 5-3-1 with seven matches left in the regular season. Every game is critical if Carson wants to make the playoffs, and host a first-round game. On Saturday, Carson travels to Minden to take on the arch-rival Tigers at 11 a.m.
Coach Mike Alvarez is hoping this game could be the catalyst for things to come. Carson had lost three and tied once in its last four matches. Certainly the offensive effort picked up, but Manogue is not one of the stronger teams in the league.
Brian Llamas enjoyed his first-ever two-goal game for the Senators, while Alejandro Gonzalez, Rogelio Herrera, Carlos Alvarado and Octavio Virrueta added one goal apiece.
“Those two goals should help his confidence,” Alvarez said. “He’s extremely fast, and you could tell on that second goal what kind of touch he has.
“I hope we kind of hit the reset button tonight, and play like I know we’re capable of playing. We had great looks at the goal throughout the game tonight. I don’t know that I’ve seen us get that many hard shots toward the goal that were deflected out or saved.”
Octavio Virrueta dribbled through several Manogue defenders to break the scoreless tie in the 6th minute, and Manogue midfielder Andrew France beat Jose Moreno a minute later to even the match at 1. Moreno was in goal because starting goalie Victor Guardado quit the team unexpectedly earlier this week after several shaky outings.
It didn’t take long for Carson to break the tie, three minutes to be exact.
In the 10th minute, Christian Martinez fed a through ball to Herrera, who beat keeper Tony Juarez to give CHS a 2-1 lead. The Senators closed out an effective first half when Gonzalez scored his third goal in two games in the 22nd minute. The shot bounced off the goalie’s leg and into the net.
Carson kept up the pressure in the second half, but had nothing to show for it until the 61st minute when Llamas scored his first goal to make it 4-1.
“I was just going in for the follow,” Llamas said. “Ryan (Galvan) took the shot and the ball was loose.”
Llamas was at it again eight minutes later to make it 5-1, and Alvarado capped the scoring in the 78th minute when he headed in a corner kick by Virrueta.
Alvarez played JV goalie Efren Ramirez in goal in the final 40 minutes, and though he wasn’t seriously tested, appeared confident between the posts. Whether he stays on varsity remains to been seen. Either way, the Senators are inexperienced in goal coming down the stretch. Not exactly what you want when you are fighting for a playoff berth, but Alvarez has confidence in his defense.
“Moreno will be the starter,” Alvarez said. “I’m not sure whether Efren will stay up or not. If I take him, it leaves the JV team without a goalie. I know if we make regionals, we’ll definitely bring him up.
“I think when all our players are present and accounted for, we have a very strong defense. I’m very confident about our defense heading into the second half of the season.”
Alvarez expects a much tougher battle when the Senators play Douglas.
“Last year, they played us like it was the last game on earth for them,” he said. “I expect the same thing again.”
“Our team is so much better this year,” Llamas said. “Last year we didn’t talk (communicate). I think it’s going to be a good game.”
And one CHS needs to win.
VOLLEYBALL
Yerington drops 4-setter to Reed
YERINGTON — Reed spotted Yerington a set and roared back for a 19-25, 31-29, 25-16 and 25-13 win over the Lions in a nonleague match Wednesday night.
The Lions played without Chloe Dane, who has an ankle injury,
Kassidy Lommori led Yerington with 14 kills, 17 digs and five blocks, while Ashley Rife added 14 digs, 16 assists, six kills, three aces and two blocks. Jordan Bobrick had 18 digs and three kills, while Brianna Ramirez contributed 17 digs and three kills.
