Honer leads Douglas boys soccer past Carson

Chris Honer said he was too pumped up to be tired despite playing every second of Wednesday's game against Carson.

The Douglas senior scored twice and played splendid defense to lead the Tigers to a 3-1 Sierra League win over their arch-rivals.

The win upped Douglas' record to 5-1 in league, whileECarson dropped to 3-3. The Tigers remain a game behind league-leading South Tahoe.

"This game was tough, but not as physical as the one against South Tahoe," Honer said. "We had the size this game. We did a good job of pushing the ball upfield tonight."

And when Douglas did attack, Honer was right in the middle of the action. His two-goal effort gives him nine for the season.

"He's a very big player, and he knows how to use his size and speed," Carson coach Jim Nealis said. "He was the difference out there tonight."

Honer gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute when he converted a direct free kick following a foul by Carson's Brian Arce. Colton Mellows flashed in front of Honer, who booted the ball in the left corner of the net.

"They didn't have a guy at the edge of the wall, and the ball tipped off the goalie'sEhands," Honer said.

Honer made it 2-0 in the 57th minute, easily beating Carson's Robbie Liebherr. Honer said the goal was made possible by the hustle of Trent Hennessy-York.

"Trent hustled to get to the ball, and it just kind of rolled out to me," Honer said. "It was just sitting there waiting for me."

The Tigers' Justin Grimm corralled a loose ball nine minutes later and kicked it past Liebherr for a 3-0 lead. Grimm went down hard with an injury to his right ankle.

"All I know is that I scored and it hurt like heck," he said, removing an ice pack from his injured leg.

Carson finally got on the board in the 68th minute when Jordan Wilcher dropped in a direct free kick over the outstretched hands of goalie Chase Zumpft, who had eight saves unofficially.

Carson had three great opportunities in the second half. Kurt Schliker made a good run at the Douglas goal, only to see his shot blocked in the box by a Douglas defender. Zumpft deflected another hard shot over the crossbar, and Drew Anderson's header was stopped by Zumpft.

"I finally saw us do some things we've needed to do all season," Nealis said. "Tonight was the first time I saw us complete a number of passes in a row. We were getting the ball into their third, but we didn't capitalize on our opportunities. We didn't finish like we needed to do."

While Nealis blamed defensive breakdowns for all of Douglas' goals, Douglas coach Phil Sheridan was pleased with his defense. Sheridan praised the play of Zumpft, midfielder Mellows and midfielder David Sturgess.

"David was sick all week," Sheridan said. "Colton played well despite the fact he lost a contact and was having trouble seeing. It was just a gutsy performance by all the kids."

CARSON 1, DOUGLAS JV BOYS 0

Sam Rojas, off an assist by Enrique Mendoza, scored the game's only goal to give the Senators (10-0-1) a 1-0 win over Douglas. Goalie Christian Volker posted the shutout.

Douglas goalie Steve Done played well, registering nine saves. Dylan Rahe and Kenny Jones also played well for the Tigers, who dropped to 4-2 in league.

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