Senator senior Adrian Torres scores the first goal of the game against Reno Wednesday evening.
Carson High struck quickly, and Reno was helpless in its attempt to retaliate.
Adrian Torres and Israel Lopez scored goals in the first four minutes of the match, and the Senators went on to a 4-1 win over the Huskies in the Northern 4A opener for both schools Tuesday night at Carson High School.
What made Carson’s win more impressive was that the team played without several standout players, including Osvaldo Gomez, Efren Ramirez, Cesar Medina and Guillermo Perez. Even without them, Carson outshot Reno 19-5. All four Carson goals came in the first half.
“It was important to give us confidence for starting the season,” said striker Angel Gonzalez, who scored on a direct free kick. “It will help us through the whole season.”
The fans had just barely got settled when the Reno keeper failed to hold on to a direct free kick, and Torres was there to follow it in.
“I was just trying to be the first one to the ball to follow it in,” Torres said.
“I was just trying to score.”
“It (the first goal) was very important,” coach Frank Martinez said. “When you score right away like that it sets the tone. You can work on possession and tire them out. Adrian is a scrapper.”
Less than three minutes later, Lopez beat the Reno keeper to make it 2-0 in the fourth minute.
“I switched it (at the last moment) and beat the keeper,” Lopez said.
Reno got on the board in the 11th minute when Carson defenders let Reno play a little long ball. Diego Corral raced by a couple of Carson defenders and beat Leonardo Barajas to keep the Huskies in the game.
David Gonzalez had a hard shot deflected away, and Torres missed a header from close range. The Senators weren’t done attacking, however.
Angel Gonzalez scored an insurance goal after he was fouled just outside the penalty box. He tucked one neatly into the corner to make it 3-1.
“I looked at a corner and saw it was open,” Gonzalez said. “I shot it with power. It went through the keeper with power.”
Carson added one more in the half when defender Christian Martinez found Danny Escalante on the left seam, and he finished the play.
“There was open space, and he saw me running and crossed it,” Escalante said.
Four goals in nine shots. That is a percentage any coach would love to have.
“We have been working a lot on possessions and finishing,” Martinez said.
The second half was anti-climatic. Each team had a couple of good looks, but failed to convert.
“Yes a little bit,” Martinez responded when asked if he was surprised by the ease of the win. “I saw them play at the tournament, and Arne (Hoel) is a great coach.”