Three second-half goals helped Montesano pull away from Elma while Aberdeen won in a PK-shootout as we review Thursday’s girls prep soccer games on the Harbor.

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GIRLS PREP SOCCER

Montesano 4, Elma 1

Montesano put to rest any hopes of an Elma upset with three second-half goals en route to a 4-1 win on Thursday at Davis Field in Elma.

The Bulldogs (8-1-2 overall, 4-0 1A Evergreen) dominated the pitch, playing inside the Elma half and defensive third for the majority of the game as a young and less-experienced Eagles squad incorporated a heavy defensive shell.

Monte opened the scoring when junior forward Jaelyn Butterfield put one in the back of the net in the 14th minute, but the Bulldogs offense would get shut out the remainder of the first half despite outshooting the Eagles 9-1.

That one shot for the Eagles turned out to be key as Elma, pinned inside it’s one final third, broke out on a counter-attack. Elma senior defender Anna Servellon placed a well-timed diagonal through pass to open space near the left sideline.

Speedy Eagles freshman midfielder Chlesea Plata – one of Elma’s new faces this season – outran the Montesano defense to chase down the ball for a breakaway.

Plata then slotted a shot past oncoming Monte keeper Izzie Taylor inside the far post for a goal to tie the game with less than two minutes left in the first half.

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Elma’s Chelsea Plata (left) celebrates scoring a goal with her teammates during the first half of a 4-1 loss to Montesano on Thursday at Elma High School.

“Credit to all the players because when the game started, they were ready to play and focused,” Elma head coach Evan Valentine said of his team’s first-half performance. “I feel like they did their part. … I think (Plata’s goal) gave us even more belief in ourselves. It was great and it sent a shockwave through the crowd. … It was an awesome moment.”

Despite Elma entering halftime with all the momentum, it was Montesano that dominated the final 40 minutes of play.

Senior forward Lex Stanfield scored on a cross from Butterfield less than three minutes into the second half to put Monte back on top 2-1.

The Bulldogs added an insurance goal from Butterfield – her second of the game – off a cross from midfielder Lainey Robinson in the 63rd minute and Stanfield’s second of the game off a feed from midfielder Mayce Sanchez in the 77th minute to close out the 4-1 win.

For Montesano, which had 10 shots apiece in each half and outshot Elma 20-2 in the game, the problem was solving the Eagles’ strategy of playing a defensive-minded game.

“We knew it was coming from the start and we just were really frantic at the start and we weren’t controlling the ball good enough,” Stanfield said about Elma’s defense in the first half. “In the second half, we started controlling the ball, finding our switches and combos that we’ve been working on and that definitely helped us through.”

PHOTO BY MIKE ROBERTS Montesano forward Jaelyn Butterfield (left) shoots during a 4-1 win over Elma on Thursday at Elma High School.

“We were making the wrong choices, simple as that,” Monte head coach Fidel Sanchez said of his team’s inability to finish in the first half. “We were forcing too many things that were not there. … We were going into their 10-player defensive shape. Do you want to go through a wall or do you want to open a door? … You have to find ways around it.”

Valentine likened Monte’s second-half onslaught to a dam bursting open.

“It’s very difficult to maintain a high level of focus for a very long time. … I thought we kept it for 50-60 minutes,” he said. “When a dam breaks, it’s hard to repair it and it feels more devastating when you’ve held it for so long. I think that mental game is what happened. … I think we just lost that focus for a second.”

At halftime, Coach Sanchez told his team clearly what he thought the problems were.

“I told them, ‘Do your job. Everybody has a job and most of you are not doing it.’ That’s the difference between when we play really well and we’re playing to a 1-1 tie at halftime with 90% of the possession. … I would like to think they got that message. We just have to do things cleaner. … We were just misfiring in the first half.”

Monte sits atop the league standings and will take on Tenino at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Tenino.

Elma is in fourth place, a game behind Rochester, and will face the Warriors at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Rochester.

Montesano 1 3 – 4

Elma 1 0 – 1

Scoring

First half – 1, Montesano, Butterfield, 14th minute. 2, Elma, Plata (Servellon), 39th minute

Second half – 3, Montesano, Stanfield (Butterfield), 43rd minute. 4, Montesano, Butterfield (Robinson), 63rd minute. 5, Montesano, Stanfield (M. Sanchez), 77th minute.

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Aberdeen 1, Black Hills 0

(Aberdeen wins 3-1 on penalty kicks)

Aberdeen thrust itself back into postseason contention with a 1-0 victory – 3-1 on penalty kicks – over Black Hills on Thursday at Black Hills High School.

The Bobcats (6-4-1, 2-3 2A Evergreen) and Wolves (8-3, 2-3) each had multiple dangerous scoring opportunities throughout the first two halves and overtime, but neither team found the back of the net.

Against a Black Hills team that kept the ball in the midfield or in Aberdeen’s half the majority of the time, the Bobcats nearly took the lead on a few shots by forward Shay Dunlap and a long free kick from defender Hana Lessard that sailed just over the crossbar.

In the shootout, Aberdeen goal keeper Anni Devine blocked the first shot she saw and got a hand on the second Wolves attempt, but the ball trickled into the back of the net.

The next two Black Hills attempts were off-frame over the crossbar.

Aberdeen missed its first penalty shot but followed with three straight by senior midfielder Valeria Aguilar, senior midfielder Miley Anderson and sophomore defender Kendalynn Garman to secure the Cats’ second-straight 2A Evergreen Conference victory.

“We really played well defensively and showed a lot of improvement in the passing game,” Bobcats head coach Lary Fleming said. “If we can put some more of our shot attempts into the back of the net we will be a pretty solid squad.”

The Aberdeen JV team lost 2-1 on Thursday, with Aixa Bravo scoring the Bobcats goal on an assist by Alyssa Caskey.

Aberdeen plays at first-place Tumwater at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Aberdeen 0 0 0 1 – 1

Black Hills 0 0 0 0 – 0

Scoring

First half – none.

Second half – none.

Overtime – none.

Shootout – 3, Aberdeen (Aguilar, Anderson, Garman); 1, Black Hills.

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Other games

Rochester 4, Hoquiam 0

Onalaska 4, Ocosta 0