Defense finally gave way to a little offense in the 70th minute of Carson High School's Northern 4A boys' soccer game in Minden on Wednesday, as Dylan Sheridan scored off a corner kick to give Douglas a 1-0 victory over the Senators.
A tough defensive battle throughout was broken when Sheridan took a pass 15 feet from the goal and punched it in. The corner kick was headed to Sheridan on the right side.
"It was a well-balanced game, great to watch" Carson coach Bruce Bergantz said. "We had our chances, but we couldn't convert them."
Nick Hernandez led a stifling Douglas (12-3-2) defense, helping it control the defensive-third of the field and expand Douglas' offensive zone.
Sheridan's goal was remarkable in itself because it wasn't even known whether he could finish the game because of a leg bruise. He moved up from forward to midfield because of the injury. The Tigers were already missing T.J. Plummer due to an ailment as well.
Douglas had a chance in the first half when Sheridan's shot hit off the goal post, but nobody was able to finish it off from there as Carson cleared it out.
"I think the kids were nervous about making a mistake," Douglas coach Philip Sheridan said. "They didn't want to allow a goal in a tight game, so the quality of play wasn't as high as it usually is. Instead of attacking, we cleared the ball out of bounds at times."
Toby Steele and Aaron Satterwhite led the Carson defense, according to Bergantz.
"They did a great job neutralizing a couple of their key players," he said.
Carson (9-5-2) takes on Fallon in a home game at 1 p.m. Saturday, then faces Reed next week. Douglas hosts Galena at 1 p.m. Saturday.