Carson High's win over Damonte Ranch wasn't pretty by any means, but first-year coach Eric Masters will take an ugly win over a loss every time.
Sharp, crisp passes were missing most of the day. Finesse and good ball movement gave way to pushing and shoving, especially in the second half when the officiating crew doled out several yellow cards and ejected Damonte's Jose Correa on a soft red card.
"It wasn't the greatest game," said Masters after the 2-1 victory which kept Carson unbeaten at 3-0. "We fought really hard. Obviously Damonte Ranch played hard and created problems.
"We had to make a change. We were playing in the middle which isn't our style. In the second half, once we got to the middle we got the ball out wide. We just changed it up."
Masters admitted that his team may have been sucked into playing Damonte's style which is the equivalent to a first-place team playing down to the level of a last-place team.
"It's still a learning process," Masters said. "We'll keep working at it. It was a great victory, and we played well enough to get a victory."
Carson had a 15-7 edge in shots, but this one wasn't decided until Sam Hutchinson's goal in the 72nd minute.
"I saw Jon (Guevara) shoot and the goalie made the save but the ball came loose and I just chipped it in over him," Hutchinson said.
Carson had two more opportunities to extend the lead in the final eight minutes, but was unable to convert.
Carson controlled play at both ends of the field for much of the first half. Carson's midfield and backline play was so efficient that Damonte Ranch didn't get a shot on goal until the 13th minute.
The Senators, who had two good first-half runs, finally broke through in the 31st minute when Guevara assisted on a Christian Hernandez goal.
Damonte evened the game at 1 in the 48th minute when Luke Wisecarver beat Carson goalie Marco Magallon.
Neither team had a serious scoring threat until Hutchinson's game winner. Damonte had a chance to tie the game with just a few minutes left, but the Mustangs were called for a hand ball. Several Damonte players argued the call to no avail.
Carson was able to run out the clock, and secure the win.
The Senators play again at 7 p.m. Wednesday when they host Douglas.
• Carson's junior varsity squad rolled to a 3-0 win over Damonte to improve to 3-0 on the young season. All three Carson wins have been shutouts.
Francisco Barrios opened the scoring early in the second half off a pass from Jorge Rodriguez. Miguel Ortiz and Porfirio Jauiegui scored the other Carson goals. Robert Abundis assisted on the second score, while Adam Shoaf and Sam Bruketta assisted on the final score.
The defense did a stellar job, limiting Damonte to just one shot on goal. Gustavo Villagrana had an easy day in goal. Christian Navarro, Nate King, Danny Alonso and Arnaldo Diaz were singled out by coach Joe Brigs for their defensive work.