After knocking on the door for more than 70 minutes, Aberdeen finally found the key to unlocking Hoquiam’s defense.
Hulizes Chavez scored in the 71st minute to give the Bobcats a 1-0 victory over Hoquiam in a typically hard-fought battle of Harbor boys soccer rivals Thursday at frigid, rain-swept Stewart Field.
Relying on exceptional ball-control and short passes, the Bobcats (2-1) dominated play throughout — unofficially outshooting the Grizzlies, 17-6.
“Passing the ball and working the ball around the field — if you got points for that, we would have had a lot of points,” Aberdeen coach Larry Fleming said. “We didn’t do a great job of finishing.”
What Hoquiam coach Fidel Sanchez later described as a “patchwork” defense performed magnificently in keeping the game scoreless heading into the final 10 minutes. Goalkeeper Jonny Smith made several fine saves.
Ironically, the Bobcats finally converted only seconds after Hoquiam’s best scoring opportunity.
Grizzly forward Connor Darras broke through for a one-on-one chance, but goalkeeper Luis Soto deflected his shot wide.
On what was literally Aberdeen’s next possession, forward Luis Martinez crossed a pass that slipped past at least three HHS defenders.
Senior midfielder Tony Oropeza redirected it to Chavez, who buried about an 8-foot shot into the upper left corner of the net.
Darras had another opportunity in the waning seconds, but couldn’t get his foot cleanly on a bouncing ball. The shot popped into the air and was handled by Soto, who came well out of the net to challenge.
Had regulation play finished in a tie, Fleming said the teams likely would have skipped the standard five-minute overtime periods and proceeded directly to a penalty-kick shootout.
The Bobcats had several prime scoring chances in the first half. Sophomore Romeo Sanchez’s header, off Trevor Dawkins’ long free kick, found the net in the 26th minute but was nullified by a disputed offside call.
Considering that his team was missing two starters and Darras was less than 100 percent due to a rib injury, Coach Sanchez had no complaints about his team’s showing.
“I’m happy with what we did,” he said. “We came out and put up a fight on a fast, wide field. Yes, we would have liked to have come out with a win, but we battled. We’ve got to do better on what we (normally) do and that’s possess the ball.”
Grizzly defenders Dylan Baker, Riley Jackson and Andy Lutz, all playing at unfamiliar positions, drew Sanchez’s praise.
Fleming liked the job defender Christian Sanchez did on marking up on Darras. He also cited Dawkins and A.J. Sanchez for fine play.
Tony Hernandez scored twice as Aberdeen won the JV match 6-0.
Aberdeen hosts Montesano at 2 p.m. today. The Grizzlies will be idle until after spring break, due to the Northwest School canceling a scheduled non-leaguer next week.
