RENO - The Carson Senators girls soccer team saw its playoff seeding take a hit after running into some frigid weather and a spirited Mustangs team in a 1-0 loss Saturday at Damonte Ranch High School.
Damonte Ranch's Lilla Melton got beneath a long pass from goalkeeper Lauren Delameter and beat a charging Jennifer Johnson, who came out of the Carson net, to give the Mustangs all the offense it would need in the 28th minute.
"We made a lot of poor decisions on our side," Senators coach Randy Roser said. "On that goal, instead of us taking a chest ball and having it drop at our feet, it ended up breaking into the goal."
The loss likely dropped Carson, now 8-3-2 in the Sierra League (17-4-2 overall), from second to third place behind Douglas, if Douglas beat North Valleys as expected on Saturday.
Carson hosts North Valleys Tuesday at 7 p.m. in its final game of the regular season.
The Northern 4A state playoffs begin Friday at Damonte Ranch High School and Carson will likely play either Elko or Spanish Springs of the High Desert League in the first round.
Before that happens, Roser said some of his players would have to make some changes.
"We're experiencing some attitude from players," Roser said. "It's just some negative stuff. We're a young team. We have some young players who think they've arrived. We're going to have to work on some mental things next week."
Playing against an icy wind, Carson outshot the Mustangs 4-2 in the first half and, with the wind at their backs, 6-1 in the second. But Delameter was equal to the task and notched six saves, including four in the second half.
Johnson had two saves for the Senators.
The Mustangs dropped back on defense in the second half, burning the clock on long shots by Carson and succeeding in keeping the game in the middle of the field.
"They had one forward and nine defenders in the second half," Roser said. "You could see how they were going to play us on the first long ball of the second half. Their keeper walked after it. With the wind on artificial turf, they played the long ball and shot it out of bounds.
"And we just made poor decisions. Rather than be patient and pass the ball upfield, we'd clear it out of bounds."
Carson junior forward Brandi Vega got off three shots in the second half, but was foiled two times by Delameter and, shooting from near the 6-yard box, hit the top of the crossbar in the 59th minute.
Johnson kept the Senators in the match in the 67th minute, denying a shot by Devan Boundy. But Carson was unable to covert on its two remaining chances, including a free kick by Becca Kane in extra time.
With the win the Mustangs avenged a 5-1 loss to Carson in their first meeting.
"This changes everything now," Roser said. "Coming into North Valleys, it could be anyone's game at this point."