The Carson High girls soccer team may have played its best half of the year in the second half of a 5-2 win over CBTIS, Mexico, in its opener of a tournament in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Carson and CBTIS battled to a 2-2 halftime tie before the Senators took control in the second half.
"They were a very skilled club," said Carson coach Randy Roser about CBTIS. "We came out and put it together and played very well. I'm happy with the win."
Aftr a "pretty decent" first half, Roser said his team played "tremendous" in the second half. "We just moved the ball so well. It was nice to come down here and play well."
CBTIS took a 1-0 lead in the first seven minutes in the game which used 30-minute halves, but Carson came back to tie the score 1-1 when Kristin Rush scored on an assist by Rebecca Kane.
The Senators then took a 2-1 lead when Helaine Berris scored on a header off of Megan Jackson's crossing pass that Roser described as a "perfect goal." Kayla Sanchez scored the last two goals for Carson with Sanchez scoring the last goal on an assist from Brandi Vega.
Roser said Vega is now at full strength after an early season ankle injury. "Brandi's pretty much up to full speed," he said.
Roser also praised the play of Lauren Schulz. "Our defender of the day really had to be Lauren Schulz," he said. "She came out and played exceptional."
A torrential downpour on Monday also made for difficult field conditions and Roser also said his team handled the tough field conditions well. "The field was just more than soaked," he said.
Carson will continue play in the tournament with two games today at 6 and 11 a.m.