Carson girls soccer falls to McQueen

What began as a promising postseason full of expectation turned into a disappointing day for the Carson Senators girls soccer team.

The Senators, winners of the Sierra League championship and the No. 1 seed, took an upset 2-1 loss at the hands of High Desert League No. 4 seed McQueen in the first round of the NIAA Northern Nevada Girls Soccer State Championships Saturday at Carson High School.

"We just didn't get it into the net," said Carson coach Randy Roser, whose team finished with an 11-4-2 record. "Well, life's tough. The girls played hard from the first whistle on. We had to adapt in the second half. Soccer's a cruel game."

Carson outshot McQueen, 19-11, but could not overcome a slow beginning and a 2-0 halftime deficit.

The Lancers were able to slow down the Senators and got on the board first on a goal by senior Patricia Terranova, who beat Carson goalkeeper Jennifer Johnson, chipping a shot over her head from about 5 yards out from the left side.

Terranova went supernova in the 38th minute, pinballing in a shot off the ground and off the goalpost for the 2-0 lead.

"Like I told the kids, the whole season is about the playoffs," said McQueen coach Roy Callahan, in his 10th year. "After that, a whole new season begins. This game is so funny."

Although it got off to a slow start, Carson turned it up about halfway into the first half, but was outshot, 8-7.

"In the first half, we started off more intense," Callahan said. "Our alignment was set more to attack. We used a 3-5-2 to attack the midfield. In the second half, we flipped them and had two attackers back and tried to preserve the lead."

Carson's Kayla Sanchez got her team back into the game in the 67th minute, turning on the afterburners and first beating a McQueen defender before booting one past Lancers goalkeeper Jeanette Drisdale to cut the lead to 2-1.

"In the second half we changed from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-3 so we had more attacks," Roser said. "It helped. The girls worked hard. They had more opportunities, (the shots) just didn't go their way."

Carson senior Danielle Moos got off a great shot in the 74th minute and had everything going her way except an angle and Drisdale made the save.

Drisdale ended up with 10 saves - nine in the second half - and Johnson had four.

"It boiled down to the kids stepped up," Callahan said of the difference. "They were more intense today than they have been all season. We played great defense. We were a little more physical. We're a young team and we're starting to gel."

McQueen, now 8-7-1, will meet Galena, a 1-0 winner over Reno, on Wednesday at Damonte Ranch High School. McQueen was up by a goal in the second half of both games against the Grizzlies, but lost both meetings, 2-1.

Roser said the loss was tempered for him by the fact that Carson accomplished the goals the coaching staff set for it.

"As coaches, our only goal for the team was zone," Roser said. "We have 10 underclassmen on the team. That's the most of any Northern team. Our goal was to make the top four and we won the league."

Carson will graduate four seniors: Ann Sinnott, Moos, Helaine Berris and Justine Von Rumpf.

"You don't like to go out in the first round in zone," Roser said. "We were unlucky. Two calls led to two goals. It was a tough way to go. The girls came out with their heads up. They never gave up. This team's got a lot of character. The older players brought the younger ones along. I'm proud of the team."

The upshot for the Senators is that they should have an experienced team for the next two years and will have a solid crop of players coming up from junior varsity.

"It was a good season," Roser said. "Right now they're depressed. Monday they'll realize they had a great season."