Aberdeen figured out the W.F. West defense to score two second-half goals en route to a key 2-0 league victory on Friday in Aberdeen.
The two teams played even through the first 40 minutes of the game, with most of the action consisting of a back-and-forth midfield affair.
In the second half, Aberdeen dominated the pitch, pressuring the Bearcats defense with penetration into the W.F. West final third.
The Bobcats (3-0 overall, 1-0 2A Evergreen) broke the scoreless tie when sophomore center midfielder Leo Garcia took a pass from senior winger Julian Garcia and hit a long shot for a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.
Just under 10 minutes later, the Bobcats doubled their lead when sophomore Evan Cone took a long ball from senior midfielder Edwin Quintana and beat the Bearcats keeper from close range for a 2-0 lead.
Aberdeen continued to dominate the rest of the way, gaining the majority of scoring chances without surrendering another shot in picking up the win in its 2A Evergreen League opener.
“Our boys did a good job settling down and passing the ball around while also picking up the intensity and winning every ball they could in the last two thirds of the match,” said Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming, who cited defenders Alan Avalos, Javier Garcia, Isaiah Johnson and Hugo Garcia for helping keeper Antonio Granados to a clean sheet.
Aberdeen hosts Black Hills at 7 p.m. on Monday.
The Bobcats junior varsity team tied W.F. West’s JV team 1-1.
Juan Guzman scored for Aberdeen JV while Trino Villar and Marc Avila were cited for great hustle by Bobcats assistant coach Luis Garcia.
WF West 0 0 – 0
Aberdeen 0 2 – 2
Scoring
First half – none
Second half – 1, Aberdeen, Leo Garcia (Julian Garcia), 54th minute. 2, Aberdeen, Evan Cone (Edwin Quintana), 63rd minute.
Montesano 4, Eatonville 1
Montesano managed the notorious field conditions to defeat Eatonville 4-1 on Friday in Eatonville.
The Bulldogs (2-1, 1-0 1A Evergreen) got a hat trick from Felix Romero and a goal off a corner kick by Mateo Sanchez in the victory.
Monte took an early lead as Romero scored goals in both the 11th and 19th minutes of the game.
Sanchez followed with an Olympico to the near post in the 27th minute to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead less than three minutes after Eatonville scored its lone goal of the game.
“We jumped on them early, which is always good on the road,” Monte head coach Fidel Sanchez said. “We pretty much controlled the midfield and the pace of the game.”
Romero recorded his third goal of the game in the 60th minute and the Bulldogs defense didn’t allow any legitimate scoring chances the rest of the way in earning the 1A Evergreen League victory.
Sanchez said his team employed a strategy that has seemed to work when travelling to play on the Cruisers’ uneven, bumpy natural grass field.
“We trained on grass the day before to get ready for this,” he said, noting the Bulldogs practiced away from the confines of Jack Rottle Field on Thursday to prepare for the field conditions. “It was so frustrating because we had a horrible time controlling the ball on the grass at Simpson Elementary, but I think that helped us. … It’s hard, but you have to over come it. It’s their home field and it’s going to be the same way when we go to other places, so might as well get used to it and figure it out because we need to win those games.”
Montesano outshot Eatonville 10-1, with seven Bulldogs shots being on-target.
The Bulldogs JV team tied Eatonville JV 3-3 on Friday.
Monte hosts Forks at 7 p.m. on Monday.
Montesano 3 1 – 4
Eatonville 1 0 – 0
Scoring
First half – 1, Montesano, Romero, 11th minute. 2, Montesano, Romero, 19th minute. 3, Eatonville, 22nd minute. 4, Montesano, Sanchez, 27th minute.
Second half – 4, Montesano, Romero, 60th minute.
Elma 3, Raymond-South Bend 2
Elma was able to hold off Raymond-South Bend for a well-earned 3-2 victory in a 1A Evergreen League opener on Friday in Raymond.
The Eagles (2-2, 1-0 1A Evergreen) got a goal from junior forward Cason Seaberg on a pass from Hank Doelman in the 13th minute, but Raymond-South Bend (0-1, 0-1) responded with a goal in the 18th minute to tie the game.
Elma defender Ivan Torres played a long ball into the box and the Eagles were rewarded when a hand ball was called, setting up a penalty kick with approximately five minutes left in the first half.
Seaberg slotted home the PK for a 2-1 lead.
Just a few minutes later, Elma’s Matthew Wood connected a pass to midfielder Theo Torres, who played a through ball to Seaberg, who caught up with the pass and knocked it across the middle toward Gregory Mendoza, who scored to make it a 3-1 game at the half.
With 20 minutes left, an RSB free kick from approximately 45-yards out was bounced in toward the Elma goal line. RSB was able to put the loose ball in the net to cut Elma’s lead to 3-2.
“From there on, it was just a battle,” Elma head coach Carson Seaberg said. “They played us tough. They played really hard.”
Elma hit the post on a corner kick and had several scoring chances, yet were unable to get the insurance goal.
But the Eagles defense stayed firm, holding steady the rest of the way to pick up the 3-2 win.
“I thought Ivan Torres and Alex Miranda really settled in and played a nice game for us on the back line,” Coach Seaberg said of his defense. “Cason always gets a little bit of publicity because he’s up front and always doing a bunch of stuff, but he definitely has some players around him, supporting him and making things go forward.”
Elma takes on Tenino at 7 p.m. in Tenino.
Elma 3 0 – 3
Raymond-South Bend 1 1 – 2
First half – 1, Elma, Cason Seaberg (Hank Doelman), 13th minute. 2, RSB, 18th minute. 3, Elma, Seaberg, 35th minute. 4, Elma, Gregory Mendoza, 37th minute.
Second half – 5, RSB, 60th minute.
Hoquiam 2, Forks 1
Trailing at the half, Hoquiam responded with two second-half goals to pick up a 2-1 league victory over Forks on Friday in Forks.
Hoquiam (1-1, 1-0 1A Evergreen) trailed 1-0 at halftime despite “getting out of position” early in the game.
The Grizzlies responded with a much better second half, utilizing improved ball pressure and remaining in form to seize control of the game.
“We took the half to get them regrouped and came out in the second half a lot more controlled,” Hoquiam head coach John Johnson said.
Hoquiam found the equalizer 10 minutes into the second half when freshman Santiago Martinez played a through pass to freshman Brannon Gonzales, who scored to tie the game at 1-all.
Hoquiam played down a man when sophomore Christian Sanchez received a red card and had to leave the pitch, but the Grizzlies responded by continuing to create opportunities.
Hoquiam cashed in the the eventual game-winner when Martinez netted his second of the game after receiving a pass from Gonzales in the 65th minute.
“I am very proud of these guys,” said Hoquiam head coach John Johnson, who named junior goalie Carlos Perez Orozco his team’s player of the match for making multiple key saves. “They found a way to start communicating and we are excited to come back and take on Monte on Wednesday.”
Hoquiam hosts Montesano at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Sea Breeze Oval.
Hoquiam 0 2 – 2
Forks 1 0 – 1
