Aberdeen and Montesano’s boys soccer teams lost in their playoff openers as we review Twin Harbors district-tournament games.

~~~

BOYS PREP SOCCER

R.A. Long 2, Aberdeen 1

A late goal turned out to be the difference in Aberdeen’s 2-1 loss to R.A. Long in a 2A District 4 Tournament game on Saturday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

The Bobcats (11-4 overall) traded scoring chances with the Lumberjacks (12-5-3) throughout a back-and-forth first 20 minutes of the game.

R.A. Long struck first when a shot was saved by Bobcats keeper Grady Osina and deflected in front of the far post, where the Lumberjacks’ Liam Hendrickson was there for the tap in to put Aberdeen in a 1-0 hole 14 minutes into the game.

R.A. Long nearly doubled the lead two minutes later when a shot by Andres Orozco-Stansbery rang off the crossbar and out of bounds.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen defender Ryker Scott (right) competes with R.A. Long’s Liam Hendrickson during the Bobcats’ 2-1 loss in a 2A District 4 Tournament game on Saturday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

The Lumberjacks had Aberdeen playing in its own defensive third for much of the remainder of the second half, with the Bobcats turning things around by getting more sustained offensive penetration over the final few minutes of the first half.

Aberdeen’s adjustments at halftime began to pay dividends early in a more competitive second-half effort by the Cats.

A hard shot from 30-yards out by sophomore defender Ricky Granados required a leaping save from Jacks goal keeper Noah Moriarity to keep the score at 1-0 in the 45th minute.

With Aberdeen continuing to earn offensive opportunities into the R.A. Long end of the pitch, the Bobcats would catch a break when a long clearance downfield was mistimed by the R.A. Long defense, allowing dangerous Aberdeen forward Elmer Torres a 1-on-1 breakaway with Moriarity.

Torres met Moriarity near the top of the 18-yard box, where the R.A. Long keeper mishandled the ball under the pressure of Torres.

The talented Aberdeen senior forward avoided the foul and slotted the loose ball into the open net to tie the game in the 60th minute.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen forward Elmer Torres (left) breaks past R.A. Long defender Ethan Pittsley en route to scoring the Bobcats’ lone goal in a 2-1 loss on Saturday in Aberdeen.

With time winding down and both teams pushing for the go-ahead goal, a rare defensive lapse allowed R.A. Long midfielder Daniel Santiago-Leon to turn and slip through the Aberdeen defense and into the 18-yard box. Santiago-Leon slotted a low shot past Osina to the near post for a 2-1 advantage in the 72nd minute.

Aberdeen continued to gain offensive possession into the Lumberjacks defensive third throughout the remainder of the game, but the R.A. Long defense prevented any perilous Bobcats chances on goal, resulting in the Cats’ 2-1 loss.

Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming said his team needed to clean some things up if it was to be victorious, but liked how they fought back in the second half after being on their heels for much of the first 40 minutes of play.

“Like I’ve been saying a lot lately, our first touch has been away from us and we have to get back to doing the simple things first,” he said, noting his team improved in the communication department in the second half. “We passed the ball so much better, we had some possession and as a whole, we defended better and made some chances. … I’m proud of our effort and we gave ourselves a good chance to win.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Edgar Ceja (14) gets his head on the ball during a 2-1 loss to R.A. Long in a 2A District 4 playoff game on Saturday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.

Fleming gave credit to the Lumberjacks and their ability to play as a cohesive unit.

“They have some good skill throughout the whole lineup,” he said. “Their defenders are overlapping out of the back, they have a really good touch and you can tell they are used to playing a short passing game, even from their goal all the way up the field. … They just have terrific skill. For us to hold them to two goals, with how many chances they had, is pretty good.”’

With the loss, Aberdeen will host Ridgefield in a district-elimination game at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

“We’ve got to have a good practice Monday and we get to host again,” Fleming said. “I think if we play as hard as we did in the second half, we’ll have a chance.”

R.A. Long 1 1 – 2

Aberdeen 0 1 – 1

Scoring

First half – 1, R.A. Long, Hendrickson, 14th minute.

Second half – 2, Aberdeen, E. Torres, 60th minute. 3, R.A. Long, Santiago-Leon, 72nd minute.

~~~

Seton Catholic 6, Montesano 0

Montesano was shut out 6-0 by Seton Catholic in a 1A District 4 first-round game on Saturday in Vancouver.

The Bulldogs (11-7-1) allowed three goals in each half as the Cougars (13-1-3) peppered the Monte net throughout the game.

Monte had three shots in the game, two on target, and earned five corner kicks but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Bulldogs goal keeper Matt Causey made nine saves in the game.

With the loss, Montesano will host La Center in a district-elimination game set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Montesano 0 0 – 0

Seton Catholic 3 3 – 6

Scoring

First half – 1, Seton Catholic, 15th minute. 2, Seton Catholic, 21st minute. 3, Seton Catholic, 28th minute.

Second half – 4, Seton Catholic, 48th minute. 5, Seton Catholic, 59th minute. 6, Seton Catholic, 62nd minute.

~~~

Other games

Raymond-South Bend 4, La Center 1

(RSB advances to face Seton Catholic in a 1A District semifinal game at 6 p.m. Tuesday in South Bend)