Herrera takes over as Carson’s top scoring threat

Rogelio Herrera has gone from playing indoor soccer to becoming one of the most skilled offensive players in northern Nevada in just a few short years.

Herrera, who was a complementary player last season, had his coming out party this year. He finished the regular season with 16 goals in 16 games in leading the Carson Senators (12-3-1) to a second-place finish in the Sierra League.

Carson will be relying on Herrera’s offensive wizardry Tuesday when it starts the Division I regionals at 6 p.m. against Spanish Springs at the Jim Frank Track & Field Complex.

Herrera has been playing soccer since he was 8 when his family moved from Mexico. He started playing indoor soccer in the Nevada Appeal warehouse when he was 10, and that’s where he caught the eye of current CHS assistant Frank Martinez, who got him involved with club soccer. The rest is history.

The high-scoring junior had back-to-back hat tricks this year, a first in the Michael Alvarez coaching era. If Herrera didn’t score a goal you’d think a mistake was made by the stat keepers; that it was an aberration.

“Last year, we helped Ryan (Galvan) score a lot of goals, and this year everybody is helping me,” Herrera said. “Our middles and defenders have helped me a lot. They have been sending me a lot of through balls, and I’ve been able to finish.

“I feel that I’m a scorer. Last year was my first season on varsity, and I was just getting used to everybody. We’ve built up trust in each other, and we know each other better. I’m more confident this year.”

Alvarez said Herrera may have snuck up on people this season.

“The thing about Rogelio is that last year he flew under the radar,” Alvarez said. “We had Ryan last year. Rogelio was a solid player last year, and he really improved since last season. He has a great attitude.

“He started out the season on the wing at midfield, and I like him there because he’ll hustle and help out on defense. The coaching staff decided he should be up front which gives him a chance to score more goals. He’s closer to the goal now, and if it’s Rogelio with a defender and the goalie, I like our chances of him scoring.”

Herrera admits he likes playing up front, and he also agrees he’s scoring more goals because of that.

The one thing that sets Herrera apart from others is his ability to create; his ability to hustle to the ball. When he gets the ball, he’s looking to score or he’s looking for a teammate with a better opportunity.

“he is highly skilled, and it’s a combination of his perseverance and desire to want to put the ball in the back of the net,” Alvarez said. “He’s not our only scorer, but he has been our best finisher this year. The dynamic of our team has changed this year. We are more team oriented.”

A lot of times in 2014, the Senators would depend solely on Galvan. This year’s team is more aggressive as a whole, and another year older which always helps. It’s a team that has overcome numerous injuries and still managed to be a dominant team, arguably the second-best team to Wooster. Carson lost two one-goal games to the undefeated Colts.