For the first 40 minutes of the game, the Aberdeen High School girls soccer team out shot and out played the Rochester Warriors.
Problem was, they had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard.
That changed in the second half as Aberdeen converted on enough scoring chances to earn a 2-0 win on Saturday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen.
“Our effort is always there … our decisions (in the opponent’s) final third have been getting better, but if felt like we took a step backward in that first half,” Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming said, after his team played the bulk of the first 40 minutes on the Rochester end of the field. “We were trying to fit it into a little spot in between two defenders and the goalie (while) running straight at the goal.”
Aberdeen forward Brooklynn Lecomte (17) attempts to head a shot past Rochester goal keeper Madison Bates during the Bobcats’ 2-0 win on Saturday at Stewart Field in Aberdeen. (Ryan Sparks | The Daily World)
But rather than let the frustration of dominating the pitch and pace of play yet having it bear no fruit get the best of them, Aberdeen made some simple adjustments after the half that led to quick success.
“I said, ‘Control the ball first,’ which we didn’t do a very good job (in the first half). ‘Play it wide, get to the end line, cross it and somebody needs to run to the near post,’” Fleming said of his halftime instructions to his players.
Fleming’s instruction began to pay dividends early in the second half as Aberdeen sent crosses through the goal box several times before finally converting in the 46th minute. Senior midfielder Emma Green connected on a through ball to fellow co-captain Brooklynn Lecomte, who fed speedy freshman Annie Troeh with a short pass that resulted in Aberdeen’s first goal.
The Bobcats (4-3 overall) continued to pepper Rochester goal keeper Madison Bates with shots throughout the second half. Aberdeen took a two-goal lead in the 60th minute when Green made a run down the right side and sent a deep cross in to Lecomte, who buried a one-timer into the back of the net for a 2-0 Bobcats lead.
“We struggled at first to connect with each other, but as the game went on, we started to get in our groove and find feet more instead of just kicking it,” Green said of her team’s performance. “We can definitely play better.”
Aberdeen senior midfielder Emma Green (right) jostles for possession with Rochester’s Kaylei Clark during the Bobcats’ 2-0 win on Saturday in Aberdeen. (Ryan Sparks | The Daily World)
Green added that not only did Fleming and his coaching staff address the X’s and O’s at halftime, but the mental state of the players as well.
“They definitely told us to just calm down,” she said. “We were anxious to score and get it into the back of the net and it made us a little frantic and we were just kind of kicking it wherever we could. So when we calmed down and started to pass to feet, we made more connections and had more success.”
“We were in such a hurry in the beginning to do something with the ball that we were not controlling it when it comes and it wasn’t like we were always marked up either. We just were playing the ball five yards into the defender,” Fleming said. “When we controlled it in the second half, we were running at their goal the whole time.”
Aberdeen’s defense allowed just three shots on goal as keeper Char Gutierrez recorded the shutout.
Aberdeen’s junior varsity team defeated Rochester JV 2-0 on Saturday. Madi Marlow and Aliyah Burkett scored for the Bobcats.
GIRLS SWIMMING
Aberdeen 98, Black Hills 70
Two-time state champion Anna Weber won multiple events and Aberdeen took two of three relay races as the Bobcats defeated Black Hills 98-70 on Friday at the Grays Harbor YMCA.
Weber finished the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:13.55 and touched the wall in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:06.95, winning both events to spark the Aberdeen victory.
Litzy Orona also won an individual race for the Bobcats, taking the top spot in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:14.11.
Aberdeen’s 200-yard medley relay team of Orona, Anna Matisons, Giselle Rojas and Keara Burns won with a time of 2:09.89, nearly 10 seconds faster than second-place Black Hills (2:19.70).
The Bobcats 400-yard freestyle team of Kennedy Hatton, Rojas, Burns and Weber also won their race with a time of 4:33.00, nearly 18 seconds better than Black Hills’ top team (4:47.52).
BOYS GOLF
Hoquiam 124, Montesano 137
Hoquiam golfer Michael Jump shot another low round to lead the Grizzlies to a 124-137 victory over Montesano on Thursday.
Jump matched his season average, shooting a 36 in his 9-hole round to earn Medalist honors for the third time in as many matches this season.
Hoquiam also got a personal-best performance from freshman Riley Montoure, who posted a sub-50 score of 47 in just his second varsity match despite the extreme weather conditions.
Montesano was led by Trey Sweeney, who shot the only sub-50 round for the Bulldogs with a 45.
The two teams agreed to play a best ball format, combining the scores of the top two players from each squad, third and fourth players, and fifth and sixth players for the total.
Hoquiam (124) — Jump 36, Noah Sudderth 42, Dominic Pence 57, Montoure 47, Mock Bozich 47, Cody Garman 57.
Montesano (137) — Schoch 50, Zander Jones 57, Logan Jones 54, Kody Lalonde 55, Trey Sweeney 45, Josh Wills 52.
