Guillermo Hernandez of CHS takes a shot on goal against Hug Wednesday night at Carson High.
Virrueta’s corner kicks help power Senators to win
The Hug Hawks represented the first of several litmus tests for Carson High’s boys soccer team.
Thanks to two more goals by Ryan Galvan and two goals off corner kicks, the Senators emerged with a 4-2 win Wednesday night at the Jim Frank Track & Field Complex.
Carson, 4-0, faces another tough test when it hosts North Valleys at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Senators, who played without defender Carlos Alvarado (didn’t attend classes Wednesday) have now scored 17 goals in four contests, an impressive stat to say the least.
“The goals keep coming,” said first-year head coach Mike Alvarez. “Hug was a very fast team. Without Carlos, we had to reposition some players. It changed the game. North Valleys will be another tough match.”
Both teams came out strong, hitting the post once each in the first two minutes.
In the 10th minute, Octavio Virrueta put a perfect corner kick into the box, and Salvador Rodriguez headed it in to give Carson a 1-0 lead. It was a preview of what was to come.
“It’s not something we really practice,” Rodriguez said. “Octavio put it in there, and I was able to put it in.”
Ryan Galvan, who has seven goals this season, upped the lead to 2-0 in the 23rd minute, and it was a strange score.
Galvan caught Hug keeper Jordi Gil coming out too far, and he chipped the ball over Gil’s head. A Hug defender alertly cleared the ball, but it went right to Virrueta, who hammered a shot off the post. The ball bounced back and hit Galvan in the leg and went into the goal.
“I tipped the ball over the goalie, and then Octavio hit the post,” Galvan said. “It bounced out and hit me in the knee and went in. We were destined to score.”
It stayed 2-0 until Carson keeper Victor Guardado came out too far, and Cristian Partida rolled it in to make it 2-1 in the 35th minute.
Carson made it 3-1 in the 60th minute, again scoring off a corner kick. Virrueta popped it into the middle, and defender Peter Garrett headed it past Gil.
“I practice them (corners) on my own time,” Virrueta said.
“We do encourage our defenders to move up and get into the play,” Alvarez said. “We haven’t spent much time on set plays (off the corner). We should. Octavio did a great job. It’s rare to score twice like that.”
Two minutes later, Galvan kept working against Hug pressure, and finally freed himself up enough to beat Gil to make it 4-1. Hug’s Marcos Gonzalez scored a minute later for the final score of the match.
Galvan likes what he’s seen of the team’s new offense.
“I think it’s a pretty good offense,” Galvan said. “We’re a lot more offensive minded this year. I like this offense.”
Douglas 2, Reed 1
Pedro Vega scored a game-tying penalty kick in the first half and then converted an indirect kick for the game-winner in the 68th minute as Douglas rallied for its win at home against Reed.
Douglas (1-2-1 league, 5-3-1 overall) allowed an early goal before coming back to pick up its first league win. The game was decided with 12:28 showing on the game clock when Vega lined up for an indirect kick from about 20 yards out and lined his shot over the fingertips of Reed’s goalkeeper.
Reed (1-2, 1-4-1) has seen all three of its league games to date decided by 2-1 scores.
VOLLEYBALL
Douglas tops Reno
Carmen Shaw contributed 13 kills and eight blocks, and Isabelle Peterson added 12 kills and seven blocks to lead Douglas to a 25-20, 21-25, 25-21 and 25-11 win over Reno on Tuesday night.
Ariah Barth finished with 10 kills and eight digs. Emma Sperry had 20 assists and Talyn Jackson added 14.
Douglas is 3-1.
Yerington tops Douglas in 5
YERINGTON — Kassidy Lommori and Chloe Dane combined for 36 kills to lead the Lions to a 25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 13-25 and 20-18 win over Douglas in a nonconference match Wednesday night.
Lommori had 31 kills, 16 digs and six blocks, while Dane had 15 kills, 19 digs and two blocks. Setter Ashley Rife finished with 47 assists and 13 digs, and Deseree Landa and Brianna Ramirez finished with 18 and 17 digs, respectively.
Yerington is 20-1 overall.
TENNIS
Douglas outlasts Damonte
MINDEN — The Tigers dominated doubles play en route to a 13-5 win over Damonte Ranch Tuesday afternoon, improving to 5-0.
Ingrid Carlson and Tara Cottrill went 3-0, winning 6-0, 6-4 and 7-5, and Kayleigh Carlson and Anne Pomroy also went 3-0, dropping just six games. Kylie Cozihar and Terra Williams went 2-0, winning 7-6 and 6-4.