There were mixed feelings among the Carson High girls soccer team after Saturday's 4-1 win over Bishop Manogue.
The girls were certainly happy with the win which kept them atop the Sierra League at 6-0-1, but they were disappointed that their streak of three straight shutouts was over.
The Senators' goal is to eclipse the mark of seven straight shutouts posted by Douglas.
Carson coach Randy Roser said the vow to eclipse the mark came when Douglas players started talking to the media about the streak. Roser has vowed that Carson will score more and give up fewer goals than Douglas by the end of the season.
That's entirely possible, especially if Carson's defenders - Natalie Stevens, Ali Cowan, Michelle Sandage, Shannon Flaherty and holding midfielder Kate Schulz - continue to play well.
Stevens is the glue that holds the group together. It's her third year on varsity, and make no mistake about it, she is like a second coach on the field. Roser was thinking about moving her to midfield, but that didn't last long.
"I'm more comfortable in the back," Stevens said. "I've been playing there for a long time. I can see the whole field and talk to everyone.
"We wanted to hold them to zero goals. That was our goal. We've improved a lot since the start of the season. Everybody is working hard."
The defense held Manogue to just three first-half shots, and none of them tested goalie Emmy Heller much. Heller finished with eight saves.
Carson's offense pressured Manogue from the outset, keeping the action on the Miners' side of the field.
In the 14th minute, Brenda Torres scored off a nice pass by Ali Cowan to break the scoreless tie.
In the 27th minute, Brianna McCord was dropped in the penalty box, and Carson got a penalty kick. McCord was lined up to take the shot, but was waved off in favor of Tillitt, who slammed one above the reach of the Manogue keeper to make it 2-0.
Approximately two minutes later, the Senators were on the board again when Josilyn Daggs dribbled for about 10 yards down the right side and beat the Manogue keeper from about 15 yards out.
"That was a nice play for a personal effort," Roser said.
Manogue started fast in the second half, getting two good looks in the first five minutes. One of the Manogue players, Ashley Sambrailo got behind the Carson defense, and Heller had to come out and making a sliding stop.
Manogue finally scored with 23 minutes left in the game when Michele Lawson got loose in the penalty box area and beat Heller to make it 3-1.
Carson closed out the scoring three minutes later when Tillitt scored her second goal of the season off an assist by Torres.