With three starters out of action, Carson High boys soccer coach Jason Koop wasn't quite sure what to expect from his team against Hug Wednesday night.
"Hug beat North Valleys 6-4 the other night," said Koop, who called up five players from the JV squad because of injuries to Royal Good (concussion), Micah Laack (torn ligament) and Zach Weisman (dislocated knee). "Hug can play a little bit. They will be much better in the second half (of the season) when we play them again.
"The team seems to be in really good spirits for what happened. We went through a spell last year, but I don't think it was to this extent. The other kids have to elevate their play and tonight they did."
Edgar Gomez scored two second-half goals and Ramay Nunez, Drew Good, Brandon Briggs and diminutive freshman Adam Updegrove added one each to lead the Senators to an easy 6-1 Sierra League victory over Hug at Carson High School.
The Senators, 2-0 in league play, outshot Hug 33-6. Carson returns to action Saturday at Damonte Ranch at 3 p.m.
Carson had two good scoring opportunities in the first minute, but couldn't finish either chance. The Senators got a big break in the 6th minute when Hug goalie Julio Garcia rushed out to break up a 2-on-1 break in front of the goal. He was accidentally kicked by Gomez, and had to leave the game.
Carson took advantage to score two goals, approximately a minute apart, over the next six minutes.
Gomez passed to Nunez, who found the back of the net from the right side about 18 yards away at the 11th minute. Nunez set up Briggs, who headed a shot past Hug's replacement goalie for a 2-0 lead in the 12th minute.
"I was disappointed when their goalie got hurt," Koop said. "He's pretty good. He made a couple of nice saves early. That set the tone (the early chances). I knew we were going to have a decent night."
In the next 18 minutes, Carson players misfired four different times while getting some decent looks at the net. Hug's John Ramirez had the Hawks' best attempt of the half.
Drew Good made it 3-0 in the 31st minute after taking a nice cross from Nunez.
Jason Mather had a goal disallowed in the 42nd minute, and Gomez scored the first of his two goals at the 52nd minute. He scored again 17 minutes later off an assist by Briggs for a 5-0 lead.
"I challenged him (at the half) to play his game and he came through," Koop said. "There were two others he should have had."
Updegrove made it 6-0 four minutes later when he deposited a shot in the left corner, drawing a huge roar from the partisan crowd.
"I was extremely pleased with Adam's play," Koop said. "He delivered some good balls to his teammates and he settled balls. He did not get overwhelmed out there."
The shutout was lost in the 76th minute when Carson had a defensive breakdown in the back line. Reserve goalie Chase Losche came out too far in an attempt to corral a loose ball, and Ramirez got by him and scored.
No doubt Koop has already forgotten about the win over Hug. With the meat part of his schedule upcoming - South Tahoe and Reno - he doesn't know when or if he'll get his three starters back.
'We play South Tahoe a week from Saturday," Koop said. "That's the game I hope to have most of those guys back.
"The guys we brought up played very well. I have nothing but high praise for them. They will stay up until we get those three back from injuries."
Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281