Two of the more memorable boys soccer seasons in Twin Harbors history came to an end as both the Aberdeen Bobcats and Montesano Bulldogs lost in their respective state-quarterfinal rounds on Saturday.

1A State Tournament Quarterfinal

Seton Catholic 2, Montesano 0

One week ago, Montesano held up the program’s first district championship after handing Seton Catholic a gut-wrenching loss.

On Saturday, the Cougars got some payback.

Costly mistakes led to two second-half goals as the Bulldogs saw its historic season end with a 2-0 loss in the 1A State Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday in Montesano.

The Bulldogs (19-2 overall) held more possession and had a handful more scoring chances than they did in their district-championship win on May 13, but failed to produce any threatening chances in the first half.

Seton Catholic (17-2-2) had the best opportunity to score in the opening 40 minutes, but a shot from outside the 18-yard box rang off the crossbar with just three minutes left in the half.

In the second half, a missed clearance on a back-post throw-in led to a header by Seton Catholic forward Brady Angelo to put the Cougars up 1-0 in the 44th minute.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano forward Felix Romero, right, and Seton Catholic’s Easton Ross compete for possession during the Bulldogs’ 2-0 loss in the 1A State Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday in Montesano.

Montesano nearly tied the game when a Cristofer Tobar free kick from 37-yards out near the sideline was curved in toward goal. Seton Catholic keeper Zach Catherall made a leaping, one-handed deflection that left the ball bouncing just in front of a wide-open net. Several Montesano players were in the vicinity, including senior midfielder Dalton Harris, who attempted to kick the ball into the net but missed. Seton Catholic then cleared the ball to preserve its lead.

Montesano won several more free kicks and corner kicks throughout the second half, but was unable to connect on the back end, including two Mateo Sanchez corner kicks that crossed through the Cougars penalty area but were not converted into goals.

With Monte pushing numbers forward in an attempt to score the tying goal with time winding down, a Seton Catholic counter-attack led to a back-post cross toward Angelo, who headed the ball in for a 2-0 lead in the 61st minute.

Monte had chances late in the game on set pieces, including a Sergio Romero throw-in to the back post that was headed straight up into the air before being cleared out and a Tabor corner kick that was headed wide within the final 15 minutes of the game.

With the Bulldogs unable to score, the whistle blew, ending Montesano’s dream run toward a state title.

“Two mistakes. Two mistakes on the back post,” Monte head coach Fidel Sanchez said when asked what led to the loss. “Unable to clear the ball when the cross came in on that first goal, two guys missed. A missed opportunity when the ball was bouncing to tie the game at one, and then we have a second cross on the back post, which we preach every day at practice, and we did not get the back post covered on that.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano senior co-captain Mateo Sanchez hugs his father and Montesano head coach Fidel Sanchez after a 2-0 loss to Seton Catholic in the 1A State quarterfinal round on Saturday in Montesano.

Sanchez said Seton Catholic dictated the style of play immediately after halftime, which wasn’t the case in the first half.

“I told the boys at halftime, ‘The first 10 minutes of the next half is going to open up the game. Let’s open it up for us,’ and (Seton Catholic) opened it up for themselves. That’s what happens,” he said. “I think we were a little more disorganized than we were before. Our plan was to get the ball to our forwards, but we were not doing that.”

The loss ends a memorable season for the Bulldogs, once in wich they were crowned district champions for the first time in school history.

“They set the bar high, I know that,” Coach Sanchez said. “They’ve never been here before. It stinks that I lose my son (Mateo Sanchez) to graduation. That was the most painful one. I didn’t want to coach him here for the last time. I wanted to coach him (at the state semifinals) in Renton. But it doesn’t get to be that way. We know we can get to this level. We just have to get to that next level of keeping the ball longer against quality teams.”

Seton Catholic 0 2 – 2

Montesano 0 0 – 0

First half – none.

Second half – 1, Seton Catholic, Angelo, 44th minute. 2, Seton Catholic, Angelo, 61st minute.

2A State Tournament Quarterfinal

Sehome 5, Aberdeen 0

One of the best boys soccer seasons in Aberdeen High School history came to an end on Saturday with a 5-0 loss to No. 4 Sehome in the 2A State quarterfinals in Bellingham.

The Bobcats (18-2) allowed a goal 12 minutes into the game before settling in to control possession and pepper the Mariners defense with shots throughout the first half.

But Aberdeen was unable to finish on its opportunities and gave up an own goal late in the half to make it a 2-0 game at halftime.

Aberdeen had its chances in the second half but continued to struggle to convert opportunities into goals.

Sehome (13-4-2), on the other hand, didn’t have such issues, dominating possession in the final half and scoring three more goals on various crosses and headers to secure a 5-0 win and end Aberdeen’s season.

“We worked hard to the last second, never quitting even when we were down multiple goals. We just ran into a team that is on a roll and we didn’t play our best,” Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming said, noting the Mariners have scored 17 goals in their three previous games. “I’m so proud of these boys and what they have accomplished this season. We want to send out a big thanks the parents and fans that came out in huge numbers to support our program each game.”

Aberdeen finished the season with 18 wins, tied for second most all time in program history (21 wins in 2016).

Aberdeen 0 0 – 0

Sehome 2 3 – 5