Yeoman defensive work Thursday night wasn’t enough to bring Aberdeen a district soccer berth.

Mark Morris scored twice in the final eight minutes Thursday at Stewart Field to top the Bobcats, 3-1, and advance to the District IV Class 2A Girls Soccer Tournament.

By taking Thursday’s loser-out district-qualifying (or “pigtail”) contest, the Monarchs (9-8) earned the right to face Greater St. Helens 2A League champion Columbia River in the opening round of district Saturday night.

Aberdeen, which made a dramatic late-season run to even make it to this stage, closed out its season at 5-9-2.

The Bobcats were without starting goalkeeper Reagan Glanz, who missed the contest due to a conflicting athletic commitment.

But her freshman sister Logan, who had spent the regular-season as the junior varsity goalie, filled in admirably in limiting the Monarchs to a single goal in the opening 72 minutes.

“This is a pretty tough way to jump in (at the varsity level),” AHS coach Larry Fleming said. “She did a great job. None of the goals were her doing.”

Only the fifth-place entry from the Greater St. Helens League but a team talented enough to split with Evergreen 2A League champion Black Hills, Mark Morris kept the Bobcats pinned in their own end for the majority of the contest. A tough AHS defense led by senior Taylor Coker and sophomore Nayeli Morris were able, however, to prevent the Monarchs from getting off many quality shots in the first half.

Mark Morris finally broke the scoring ice in the 42nd minute. Freshman forward Cloe Harris, an impressive playmaker, sent a perfect cross in front of the net that the Cats were unable to clear. Olivia Bollinger knocked it in from close range.

The Bobcats, who had mustered only a couple of on-target shots until then, suddenly equalized at 1-1 when freshman Brooklynn Lecomte one-touched a booming 35-yard shot into the roof of the net in the 60th minute.

But the Monarchs quickly regained the offensive momentum. After a couple of near-misses, freshman Macie Balkan slid about a 15-yard shot into the lower left corner of the net with about eight minutes left.

Aberdeen managed a couple of promising runs in the closing stretch but never got off a decent shot. Bollinger’s second goal, off a Balkan assist with about one minute remaining, put the game out of reach.

“Overall, it was a solid game against a pretty good team,” Fleming summarized.

He credited Glanz, Coker, Morris, Lecomte and midfielder Elizabeth Martinez with particularly strong efforts.

The Bobcats can take satisfaction in a remarkable late-season turnaround. After going winless in their first seven outings and not winning a league game until Oct. 5, they entered Thursday’s match having won four of their last six contests.

“Always you want to improve, but this team improved a ton,” Fleming concluded.