BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal Carson's Mats Boehnke heads the ball near the Carson goal during the first half of their championship game agasint South Lake Tahoe on Saturday.
RENO - As the final whistle sounded, Carson High forward Micah Laack slumped to the ground. One by one, several of his teammates patted him on the back in an effort to console him.
There wasn't a dry eye on the Carson sideline. A berth to the 4A Final Four had eluded the Senators once again. Carson lost in the 4A semifinals last year when Northern nevada qualified two teams in the Final Four.
South Tahoe scored a goal in the 12th minute and added two more in the second half en route to a 3-0 win over the Senators in the 4A zone final Saturday at Damonte Ranch High School.
"We played hard all year," said Carson coach Jason Koop, whose team finished 18-2. "We have nothing to hang our heads about. We're obviously disappointed. Who wouldn't be."
"When we beat them the last time, we came back and won," midfielder Zach Weismann. "We thought we could do it again. We had some good chances."
Indeed. Carson outshot South Tahoe 15-6 for the game, including a 9-3 edge in the second half. The Senators were unable to finish.
"The second half we started getting in on them," Koop said. "We hit three posts today.
"We got away from what we usually do, especially in the first half. We played a lot of long ball. We could have come out with a little more pizzazz. We were down 1-0 at the half because of a little defensive lapse."
Koop was referring to Gil Navarro's goal that barely eluded a dive by Carson goalie Brandon Briggs.
After that Carson dominated despite not scoring.
"They were the aggressor," South Tahoe coach Chris DeLeon said. "They moved up a couple people up front. We didn't get in a defensive mode.
"We didn't get defensive minded. We like to collect as many players behind the ball as we can. South Tahoe likes to control the ball. We don't like to play long ball."
Carson had two great opportunities in the 65th minute, and Laack was involved in both plays.
Enrique Mendoza crossed one from the left side. Laack, unfortunately, couldn't control it, and the ball got away from him. Moments later, Laack made a nice run and his shot appeared to hit the right post. Drew Heller also hit the post minutes later.
In the 63rd minute, Laack had another good look, but his hard shot was blocked by a South Tahoe defender. John Nuthall played a nice through ball in the 67th minute, but the South Tahoe goalie came up and kicked the ball away.
Carson's Christian Volker shot wide in the 75th minute, and moments later, Ian Chandler got around Weismann and beat Briggs for a 2-0 lead.
Mendoza had another good opportunity, but his shot was blocked by a South Tahoe defender before it got to the goal.
With time running down, Carson really pressed the issue. In the 79th minute, the Senators had a corner kick, but Mendoza played it back instead of into the goal area. South Tahoe got control of the ball, and Bryan Garcia scored an empty-net goal
"Really a 1-0 game," Koop said. "The last two goals they scored because we brought people up."
GIRLS: Reed 2, Galena 0
The Grizzlies' hope for a third consecutive 4A title came up well short, as the Raiders rolled to an easy win.
Unofficially, Reed outshot Galena 15-2. The Grizzlies didn't have a shot on goal until the 73rd minute.
"They (Reed) are a really good team, no question about it," Galena coach Ron Jones said. "We kind of struggled (offense). We would make some nice passes and get it into midfield and then it fell apart. We didn't create the numbers we'd hoped.."
Reed had nine shots on goal, but came up empty. Mary Alice Palmer had three good looks and Kayla Gomer had two. So, despite not getting any good looks at a goal, the Grizzlies were still very much in the game.
"We felt good about things," Jones said. "They got that first goal and it ignited them. It took them to the next level."
Jones was referring to Tiffany DeVries' goal in the 47th minute. DeVries floated one in from the right side that ended up in the left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Palmer, the Raiders' basketball star, put one in from 16 yards out in the 73rd minute for an insurance score.