BY MIKE HOUSER
Appeal Sports Writer
It was a depleted Reed Raiders boys soccer team that showed up Saturday at Carson High School for a friendly with the Senators, but that's because things weren't so friendly in a 2-2 draw with Manogue last week.
Following a bench-clearing brawl with the Miners, Reed was without head coach Jeff Valentine and several of its players and suffered because of it in a 6-0 Carson victory.
"It would be nice to play them at full strength," said first-year Senators head coach Nate Brigham. "I was disappointed when I got here and heard they only had 11 eligible players. It doesn't do our boys any good to play 11 players with no subs."
Nor did it do the outmanned Raiders much good as Carson senior midfielder-forward Adam Updegrove ran wild, slicing through and slipping past Reed's defenders for a hat trick.
"They were playing with a sweeper, which enabled me to get behind the defenders, where I had to beat only one or two players," said the ultra-talented Updegrove, who has played for the Olympic Development Program (ODP) in Las Vegas and on the Northern Nevada Nomads club team. "Brady (Roser) got the ball back to me, which helps."
Roser, a senior midfielder, also earned a hat trick of sorts, chipping in for three assists, including one to Ian Gunn in the 35th minute, one to Updegrove to make it 5-0 in the 48th minute, and one to senior midfielder Blake Moreland to wrap up the scoring in the 61st minute.
Roser said it was a team fundamental that allowed him to find the open player.
"It was just communicating with everybody," Roser said. "It let me know I had space where I could turn. Then I could pick (the open player) up. With Adam, he's always running around."
Updegrove beat two defenders to open the scoring in the eighth minute on an assist from senior forward Christian Armas. He later made it 3-0 on a pass from junior defender Miguel Camacho in the 39th minute.
Armas added a goal on a Moreland assist to put Carson up 4-0 in the 42nd minute.
As if its offense hasn't presented enough problems for teams this year, Carson's collapsing midfielders and defense has stymied its opponents. Carson outshot Reed, 24-4.
"That's our thing this year: We're very, very solid in back," Brigham said. "When you allow four or five shots, it makes it tough for a team to score."
It also turned Carson's goalkeepers into spectators. Neither Brandon Briggs, Carson's starting keeper, nor fellow senior Ryan "Ohio" Lee, who played the second half, recorded a save because, to begin with, no shots got through to them.
At 2-0, Carson hasn't allowed a goal in the regular season.
"It's tough for (Briggs)," Brigham said. "He'll have great stats this year, when you look at the type and quality of shots he'll receive this year. When you face only two shots, it makes it tough to stay sharp. But he stays mentally sharp. When that one shot comes, he'll be ready for it."
Reed fell to 0-1-1. Raiders keeper Josh Lopez made four saves.
Carson will host Manogue Wednesday to open league play. The Miners, in their first year in the Sierra League since realignment, won their first preseason meeting with Carson, 1-0, but the Senators took the rematch, 4-0, to win the Galena Tournament.
The game will be held on Carson's grass field at 7 p.m.
JV BOYS
CARSON 4, REED 3: Jason Martinez scored two goals and Luis Camacho added three assists to lead the Senators to a win Saturday at CHS. Camacho found Martinez for Carson's first two goals before Luis Gonzalez went unassisted in adding the third. Ivan Reyes was the beneficiary of Camacho's third assist, wrapping up the scoring when he put in the Senators' fourth goal.
CHS GIRLS 5, REED 2
Goalie Jen Johnson, Samantha Fishburn and Brandi Vega were among the leaders in Carson's win.
Vega gives the Senators plenty of flexibility as she can help lead the offense from midfield or up front at forward. Vega helped led the offense at midfield in the first half and then moved up to forward in the second half where she contributed to three goals in about a seven-minute span to help the Senators pull away.
Carson settled for a 1-0 halftime lead after Fishburn scored from the left side. A key sequence happened early in the second half when Johnson stopped a header from point blank range. Less than a minute later, Fishburn slipped in a shot inside the right post to give Carson a 2-0 lead.
After Reed cut the lead to 2-1, Vega took over. She scored twice within a minute, splitting two defenders on both plays, creating a one-on-one situation with her and the goalie to give Carson a 4-1 lead. Vega then assisted on a goal by Kaitlin Jones for the final margin.
CHS JV GIRLS 2, REED 0
Kaitlin Cosens scored on an assist from Eva Arraz and Katie McFarren scored for Carson (2-0).
DAMONTE RANCH GIRLS 4, NORTH VALLEYS 0
Gianna Whitney, Ciara O'Driscoll, Kaleina Pibulvech and Brenna McMahon scored for Damonte (1-1). Goalie Lauren Delameter and defenders Bailey Torrez, Kyleigh Larsen, Rachel Vietti and Lauren Czarnecki combined to post the shutout.
North Valleys won the junior varsity game 4-1. Lizette Torres scored for Damonte.