CARSON MAKES A ‘STATE’-MENT

RENO — In coach Michael Alvarez’s mind, there was no doubt his Carson Senators were going to make the state tournament.

Abel Sanchez scored on a penalty kick in the 25th minute to break a scoreless tie, and the Senators played stellar defense the rest of the way to post a 1-0 win in the Division I regional semifinals Saturday afternoon at North Valleys.

Carson, which qualified for next week’s state tournament with the win, will meet Sierra League rival and undefeated Wooster in Monday’s 6 p.m. championship game at Carson High School. The Colts won both regular-season meetings, beating CHS by one goal in each game.

“This doesn’t surprise me.” Alvarez said. “From the beginning of the season, they played together very well, much better than last season. I knew they would play together. We have very good chemistry on this team.

“North Valleys definitely improved from the first time we played them. They passed the ball better in the midfield.”

North Valleys hadn’t lost, a streak of 12 matches, since its 5-0 setback to Carson in the regular season.

The Panthers had a couple of good looks early, one each by Kenzeth Reed and Jose Contreras. Sanchez had two good scoring opportunities, but misfired each time. The first was an impressive bicycle kick in the 10th minute and he was wide in the 21st minute.

The Senators kept up the pressure, and Guillermo Hernandez was tripped up in the penalty box four minutes later. Sanchez stepped up and desposited the ball into the left corner for what turned out to be the game’s only score.

“I always shoot to that side,“ Sanchez said. “I wasn’t sure if it was going to get in or not.”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if the 1-0 lead was going to hold up or not,” Alvarez said. “My talk with the boys at the half was how tough playing with a 1-0 lead could be. I was hoping we could score one or two more goals to give us a cushion.”

That didn’t happen, but not for lack of opportunities by both teams. Carson had a 6-5 edge in shots in the first 40 minutes.

Carson had a good run in the 27th minute which failed to produce a shot, and Hernandez drilled a direct free kick that was saved. Carson’s best opportunity was in the 37th minute when Rogelio Herrera left-footed one wide of an open net. Eduardo Martinez and Contreras had shot attempts in the final six minutes of the half.

The second half the game started to get physical. There were a few yellow cards, and NV’s Jonathan Barrera was hit with a red card in the 77th minute, which forced the Panters to play short-handed the final two-plus minutes.

Neither team had really good scoring opportunities in the second half. North Valleys had a couple of good runs which didn’t materialize into shot attempts, and Herrera’s shot was blocked right before the red card was issued.

It has often been stated it’s tough to beat the same team three times in a season. Galena, which lost to Wooster, 3-0, had it’s chance. Now it’s Carson’s turn.

“We always start late (slow) against them,” Hernandez said. “Getting to state is great, but we want to win the game.”

Alvarez admitted the pressure is less entering Monday’s game because Carson has a state berth sewn up.