Chantal Torres collides with the Damonte goalie on Saturday at Damonte High School. The Senator girls won 1-0.
RENO — Lauren Hudak was at a loss to explain her first goal of the season.
Hudak scored on a rebound shot in the 60th minute to break a scoreless tie, and Carson remained undefeated with a 1-0 win over Damonte Ranch on a cold, drizzly Saturday afternoon.
Carson, 4-0-2 overall and 1-0 in league play, visits Wooster Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
Carson had outshot Damonte 4-0 in the first half, and neither team had a shot on the goal in the first portion of the second half.
That changed when Lindy Lehman blasted one between the pipes the Damonte keeper was unable to handle cleanly. The ball glanced off her hands, and Hudak was there to rebound it home.
“I don’t even know what happened,” Hudak said. “I was just following it in (the ball). I don’t even know who played it in (originally).”
“Lindy can shoot from that far,” said coach Greg Lehman. “She is confident that she can get it on goal. With this kind of wet weather you don’t know if the goalie is going to be able to handle it.”
It wasn’t until the 71st minute Damonte had its only shot on goal, a rather weak shot Kim Reyes easily scooped up.
Carson, thanks to the defense of Lehman, Andrea Maffei, Bailie Zuber and Lindsey Hettrick, still has yet to allow a goal in six games.
“The defense played well,” coach Lehman said. “We kept our shape and rotated the ball around well.
“Karla (Reyes) and Mayra (Olivares) had good opportunities in the first half. We just were unable to finish.”
Boys lose 2-1 thriller
Lucio Padilla scored in the 77th minute to snap a 1-all tie and give Damonte a 2-1 win in the Sierra League opener for both schools on Saturday.
The loss was the second straight for the Senators, who dropped to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in league. The Senators played without starting fullback Carlo Alvarado, who didn’t show up for the game and had not been in contact with coach Mike Alvarez.
Carson visits a tough Wooster squad on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
The Mustangs outshot Carson, 12-7, and certainly was aggressive in advancing the ball.
Both of Damonte’s goals were the result of indecision by Carson goalie Victor Guardado.
In both instances, Guardado hesitated about coming out or not, and the Mustangs made him pay the price.
Carson, which has scored just one goal in each of its last two games after scoring 17 in its first four wins, grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 34th minute when Ryan Galvan scored unassisted. It was his ninth goal of the season, and it was a tremendous individual effort, as the chunky forward got off a shot despite being bumped repeatedly.
“That was a great individual effort,” Alvarez said. “We had various other opportunities that we couldn’t convert on.”
Alan Lopez tied the game at 1 in the 58th minute, as Guardado was late to get out and cut down the angle, and Lopez put it in the right corner.
Carson’s Guillermo Hernandez and Rogelio Herrera had clean looks but both misfired in the second half.
With the game headed toward a tie, Padilla beat Guardado for the game winning score.
“It’s very disappointing,” Alvarez said. “We were forcing the ball in the first half; not connecting well. We did a better job in the second half.
“You have to either cut down the angle or come out right away and make the play. If you hesitate ... he (Guardado) didn’t come out like he should have on both goals.”
