MONTESANO — Monopolizing time of possession, Aberdeen handily completed a non-league sweep of Grays Harbor boys soccer foes.

Miguel Torres registered a hat trick as the Bobcats blanked Montesano, 4-0, on Saturday at Rottle Field.

The Bobcats will enter Evergreen 2A Conference play Tuesday with a 3-1 record. Their non-league victories have come at the expense of Harbor rivals Hoquiam, Montesano and Elma.

Considering they were outshot 22-3, Montesano (0-4-2) did well to keep the score respectable. Such Bulldog defenders as Eric Blanchard, Kenneth Moua, Michael Malpass and Riccardo Marangon did a good job of protecting the box, but the Bobcats kept the ball in Monte territory for the vast majority of the contest.

“We have pretty good touch,” AHS coach Larry Fleming acknowledged, “so it’s hard to stay with us for 80 minutes just chasing.”

In Fleming’s view, Aberdeen’s passing improved as the match progressed. He also credited his team with improved communication skills in this contest.

As Montesano coach Rick Denholm conceded, all three of Aberdeen’s three first-half goals came on well-executed plays.

Cesar Corona opened the scoring in the eighth minute. On a run up the right side, Corona launched a mid-range shot toward the right corner. Goalkeeper Waymn Thoemmes dove to get a hand on the ball, but it deflected off the right post and into the net.

Torres took an excellent pass from Corona to knock home about a 10-yard shot in the 32nd minute.

Seconds before the end of the first half, Torres headed in a long free kick from Tony Oropeza to make it 3-0.

Thoemmes temporarily denied Torres a hat trick by tipping his breakaway shot over the top of the net in the 62nd minute.

Two minutes later, however, Torres outbattled a Montesano defender for a free ball, maneuvered past Thoemmes and essentially walked the ball into the net.

Denholm said a defensive adjustment at halftime helped slow the AHS scoring output. But the Bulldogs seldom were able to put multiple passes together on the rare occasions they gained possession.

“I thought we did a better job defending the middle in the second half,” the Montesano coach said. “But, at the same time, we gave up possession way too quick.”

Monte’s best scoring chance by far came in the 15th minute following an Aberdeen foul just outside the penalty area.

Luis Muro’s free kick appeared destined for the roof of the goal. Despite being partially screened on the play, however, Bobcat goalkeeper Alexis Garcia-Guzman made a leaping save.

Enrique Cuevas scored the winning goal with eight minutes remaining to give Aberdeen a come-from-behind 4-3 win in the junior varsity contest.

The Bobcats open league play Tuesday at Tumwater. The Bulldogs host Seton Catholic in a non-leaguer the same night.

(Brendan Carl | The Daily World) Aberdeen’s Trevor Dawkins goes up for a header against Montesano’s Gage Iverson.

(Brendan Carl | The Daily World) Aberdeen’s Dylan Hughes and Montesano’s Riccardo Marangon battle for the ball during a non-league soccer match at Jack Rottle Field on Saturday.

(Brendan Carl | The Daily World) Aberdeen’s Miguel Torres shoots the ball into a wide open net after beating the Montesano goalkeeper to complete his hat trick on Saturday.