Kenzie Tillitt and Arran Rumbaugh are the future of the Carson High girls soccer program, and if Tuesday night is any indication, the future is in good hands.
Rumbaugh returned to action after suffering an injury during her club season and scored the game's only goal, and Tillitt made two sensational saves to spark the Senators to a 1-0 win over Galena in a Sierra League soccer match.
Carson is 5-0-1 overall and 3-0 in league heading into Saturday's match at Fallon. Cassie Carter will coach the team this weekend in place of Randy Roser, who will be out of the country.
"We were told Galena was the team to beat," Roser said. "It was a good game. Both teams played a very strong game. We hadn't been pressured yet (until tonight).
"Galena made some adjustments in the second half. We tried to get the girls to adjust the other way. Instead, we settled back and let them come at us."
Carson had a good run and a corner kick opportunity go awry in the first portion of the opening half.
Tillitt came up with a great diving stop of a hard shot by Ally Whitlock that looked like it was headed to the left corner of the net.
Rumbaugh had only been on the field for approximately six minutes when she beat the Galena keeper with 12:35 left to break the scoreless tie and put Carson up 1-0.
With 8:40 left in the game, Tillitt deflected a shot by Sara Lancaster from point blank range to save the shutout.
"She made two great saves," Roser said. "She played well.
"Arran isn't quite 100 percent," Roser said. "She works hard. She will be a factor as the season goes on."
Tillitt presents a problem coaches love. She also is a strong field player, and keyed the offense earlier this year before being moved to goalie.
"Right now, we're better with her in goal," Roser said. "She can definitely play in goal. She works hard in the field. Tonight would have been tough for her."
In his post-game talk, Roser talked about fitness, and he admitted that Galena was putting a lot of pressure on in the last few minutes, and the Senators were back on their heels quite a bit.
Carson did just enough to keep the ball out of the net and stay undefeated in Sierra League play.
Roser subbed liberally throughout the contest trying to keep as many fresh legs as he could on the field at any given time.
JV: CARSON 1, GALENA 0
Kylee Johnson recorded her sixth shutout of the season and Alex Schlager scored what turned out to be the winning goal in the 15th minute to lead the Senators.
Brittany Medina assisted on Schlager's goal.
The Carson JV girls return to action Saturday at 9 a.m. at Fallon.
game against Fallon.