Carson, Galena boys soccer battle to tie

Carson High soccer coach Nathan Brigham had to bite his tongue when asked about the officiating Wednesday night.

"It is what it is," Brigham said after the Senators' 1-1 tie with Galena in their Sierra League match at Carson. "You can't do anything about it. Officials don't decide the game. There were plenty of opportunities to do what needed to be done.

"It was what I expected. Marco (Merlo, Galena coach) always has them well organized. They are a physical team."

The tie dropped top-ranked Carson to 5-0-1 overall and 3-0-1 in league. Galena improved to 2-1-1 in league.

Brigham was steamed when the linesman on the far side of the field didn't call the Grizzlies' Alan Smith for being offside, and Smith got to a through ball and fired a shot past Pedro Chavez for a 1-0 lead with 3:01 left in the first half.

Galena had four shot in the first half, and three of them were good looks, including the disputed goal.

Chavez stopped a Smith shot in the 5th minute and then Carlos Garcia-Partida was wide with an attempt in the 11th minute.

Carson got off its first shot in the 24th minute, but Galena goalie Max Giesler made an easy save.

The Grizzlies seemed to frustrate Carson's offense much of the night. The Senators like to play a possession game, and Galena defenders were right on them most of the time, forcing Carson to play an over-the-top game much of the night.

"We've never been behind all year, and I think the boys got a little frustrated and reverted back to dropping the ball over the top and running it down," Brigham said.

In the 45th minute, Carson had a good opportunity off a corner kick but Giesler headed it out among a cluster of players.

The Senators finally evened the game at 1 in the 56th minute when a Galena player was called for a hand ball, giving the Senators' a direct kick, and Brian Duran put it in the upper corner.

"It was a great free kick," Brigham said. "He's been working on that in practice. It's nice when you come through like that."

Carson had a great chance to win the game in the 77th minute, but Miguel Camacho's wide-open shot from 20 yards sailed well above the goal.

"I expected to get run off the field tonight," Galena coach Marco Merlo said. "Carson has so much skill. They move the ball around well on the turf.

"This was a good battle. Both teams played hard."