Two games, two wins for Carson High! The boys faced Spanish Springs High and the girls faced Reno High at Damonte Ranch High today. If you’re a soccer purist, like me, it was a great day for soccer!
The boys played first… and to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation AND 30 minutes of OT. Carson was flawless in penalty kicks winning 5-3. The girls also ended regulation at 1-1 but 13 minutes into the first overtime period Ms. Sandage scored her second goal of the match to book a second bus to Vegas next week for the State Playoffs!
I’m going to soap box here for just a second… The Carson boys won in penalty kicks after 30 minutes of overtime. A lot of people don’t like penalty kicks to decide a game. I am one “purist” that LOVES them. Here’s why… for as long as I’ve been involved with soccer, since 1979… penalty kicks have been a part of soccer (and for YEARS prior…). They are an element of the game that few practice, fewer are great at but we’ve all been on both sides of the “result” that a shootout can bear…. then why do I love them? It’s simple. If you are not good at them, if you do not practice THIS element of the game, you will not win when the game comes down to PK’s. To me, that means you are not a “complete” player/team.
And back to the games… Hats off to both the Reno girls and the Spanish Springs boys… great games, great action, a lot of back and forth, great stuff… here are some of the images I captured from the day! Check out the rest in the galleries.
I’ve got to start with the “group” shot… One school, two trophies!! 🙂
… and onto the action…
I set up a remote camera… little did I know that we’d have a penalty kick shootout right in front of it today!
… and the girls…
… Ms. Sandage’s first goal… she later scored the second go ahead goal in OT to win the match.