Girls' Soccer: Tigers salvage tie against Carson

Even when it appeared the Douglas girls' soccer unbeaten streak at home would slip away into the night, the Lady Tigers found a way to extend it one more game.

With archrival Carson leading 2-1 and the game already in injury time, Douglas midfielder Lisa Christen slipped a through ball up to speedster Sarah Hartley.

Hartley beat two defenders to the ball and let a sharp shot loose that beat Carson goalie Jennifer Johnson her right to tie the score and extend the Tigers' unbeaten streak to 17 games at home.

"Sarah Hartley has the wheels on our team," Douglas coach Lorraine Fitzhugh said.

"She was playing outside and we've moved her to center forward. She has a lot of speed and she is goal-hungry. It was a team effort to get the ball to her."

Douglas dominated the higher-ranked Senators in the first half, scoring the first goal in the 33rd minute after Dany Heidt took a throw in and blistered it past Johnson for the 1-0 lead.

The Tigers kept the ball in the Carson end for the majority of the half, playing more of an attacking game than they generally do.

The strategy paid off as Douglas outshot the Senators 5-3 in the first half.

Douglas nearly took a 2-0 lead just two minutes after Heidt's goal when Hartley got loose on a 1-on-1 breakaway, beat the keeper, and sent a shot just wide.

Carson adjusted its gameplan in the second half and began attacking more, finishing the game with a 13-7 advantage in shots on goal.

The Senators got on the board in the 52 minute on a 20-yard arcing shot off the foot of Megan Jackson.

Two minutes later, they went ahead as Helaine Berris crossed the ball in to Brenda Luquin, who put it past Tiger keeper Jamie Greer for the 2-1 lead.

Greer had a big game in net for the Tigers, making seven saves, including a nice charging stop against Carson speedster Brandi Vega early in the game.

The Tiger defense of Mackenzie Cauley, Sam Ensminger, Sage Lyons, Marisa Bertolone-Smith and Christen also did a nice job against Carson's speedy forwards throughout the game.

In the 57th minute, Douglas nearly tied the game up as Ally Freitas put a hard shot on net that Johnson came up with a big save on.

Alexandra Laing sent a direct kick just high over the net from 20 yards out in the 66th minute and Laing later had a corner that was nearly headed in, but it too sailed high.

Douglas improved to 11-5-1 overall and 8-3-1 in league play while Carson moved to 17-3-2 overall and 8-2-2 in league play.