Douglas edges Carson girls soccer

This might not be the last time these rivals meet.

McKenna Kynett scored late in the first half and Lexi von Schottenstein scored another in the 80th minute Tuesday night to lift the Douglas High girls soccer team past Carson 2-0 in the final regular season game for both teams.

Douglas (16-0 Sierra League, 21-0 overall) now enters the Northern Division I Region Tournament as the Sierra League’s No. 1 seed. Carson (9-4-2 league, 9-6-2 overall) will be seeded No. 3, which means the two teams could meet again in the semifinals on Nov. 6 at Carson High School.

“It was a typical Carson-Douglas game,” Douglas coach Werner Christen said. “It was just like the first time we played them … playoff atmosphere ... they played great, I thought we played great. I thought both teams had good game plans going in and we just managed to sneak one in at the end of each half.”

One goal is all that separated the two rivals when they met on Oct. 10 in Minden, a game Douglas won 2-1 on a penalty kick inside the final two minutes.

“We might see each other again,” Carson coach Greg Lehman said. “This was a good game. They had their chances and they were able to put a couple away. We had a few chances, but all in all, we had a few good moments. It’s something to build off as we look forward to regionals.”

Douglas broke up a scoreless duel inside the final two minutes before halftime when Alissa Holley fed a through ball on the right side to Kynett, who blasted a 12-yard shot into the back of the net. The Tigers struck again when von Schottenstein scored off an assist from Holley just moments before the final whistle. The latter goal was the Tigers’ 100th this season.

Carson had a good scoring opportunity with 12 minutes to go when Galilea Cid broke free in the box, however, senior goalkeeper Corryne Millett stopped the one-on-one shot from 10 yards out. Cid had another open look inside the final two minutes, only to see Millett go to the ground for her second save of the night.

Carson goalkeeper Karla Reyes turned in a sterling performance for the Senators. Reyes came up big late in the first half when she came out and broke up a potential one-on-one opportunity against von Schottenstein. Then in the second half, Reyes came out no less than six times to stop breakaway opportunities before the Tigers could take a shot.

Reyes recently stepped in to play goalkeeper when her sister, Kim, sustained an injury.

“Karla has stepped in and played real well,” Lehman said. “She hasn’t played a lot of goal for us this year, but she was our keeper last year. She can play in the field, she can play in the goal. She’s just a good kid and a good athlete.”