The Elma Eagles weren’t supposed to be in this position this late in the season, and if they keep taking care of business on the pitch like they did against Hoquiam on Thursday night, the’ll soon be playing for a shot at the league title.

Elma forward Beta Valentine recorded a hat trick while senior Chloe Clark scored a pair of goals and figured in another as the Eagles trounced Hoquiam 7-0 at Olympic Stadium in Hoquiam.

Elma (7-3-1 overall, 3-1 1A Evergreen) wasted little time showing off its speed at the forward positions, scoring twice in the opening minutes. Valentine picked up her first goal on a low, hard shot to the corner off a deflected through pass with just over a minute elapsed in the game. Clark followed soon after, receiving an angled pass from senior midfielder Janessa Sample and placing a shot in the upper part of the net for a quick 2-0 lead.

Clark scored again in the 20th minute off a pass from sophomore Aaleigha Weld for a 3-0 lead the Eagles would take into halftime.

Clark — one of just four seniors on the Elma roster — figured into the Eagles’ fourth goal when a cross she sent toward the Hoquiam box was deflected in by a Hoquiam defender for an own goal 10 minutes into the second half.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma forward Chloe Clark, left, sends a cross past Hoquiam defender Ruby Wells during a game on Thursday in Hoquiam. Clark scored two goals in the contest.

Five minutes later, Valentine took a cross from Mia Monroe and got around charging Hoquiam keeper Katie Burnett with a nifty one-touch sidestep to put Elma up 5-0.

“That was a well-worked goal with a composed finish,” Elma head coach Evan Valentine said of his daughter’s second score of the contest.

With five minutes left in the game, Monroe scored on an angled pass from Sample — her second assist of the match — and finished with a high-corner shot.

In the final minute of play, Beta Valentine’s skills were on display again. The freshman forward, who nearly scored on a corner kick earlier in the second half when she sent a bender that hit off the crossbar and bounced out of bounds, scored on a corner kick (known as an Olimpico) to complete the hat trick and give Elma the 7-0 win.

”Obviously the offense is clicking better so that’s good,” Coach Valentine said. “We scored some goals and had some good movement, so I’m happy with that.”

With the win, Elma keeps pace with Montesano, which defeated Tenino 3-0 on Thursday, in the race for the 1A Evergreen League championship. The Eagles currently sit 1.5 games behind the Bulldogs and a 1.5 games ahead of Tenino in second place.

Coach Valentine said he’s stressed to his team the importance of focusing on the the task at hand and not overlooking the teams they are expected to beat.

“I mentioned to the team before the game started that at a certain point the teams you’re playing have nothing to lose because they may be out of the playoffs. A team like that can be dangerous,” he said. “You can’t rest on your laurels. So I said, ‘Play our game and play smart. Take what is given to you.’ It’s cliché I suppose, but focus on one game at a time.”

Hoquiam has now lost four straight games since returning to play on Oct. 5, scoring just one goal in that time span.

The Grizzlies have an overall record at 1-8 and are 0-4 in league play.

Elma 3 4 — 7

Hoquiam 0 0 — 0

ALEC DIETZ | THE CHRONICLE Montesano midfielder Vanna Prom (24) passes the ball during the Bulldogs’ 3-0 win over Tenino on Thursday in Tenino.

Montesano 3, Tenino 0

Over the past few years, the 1A Evergreen League title came down to one of two teams: Montesano or Tenino.

After the two teams met up for the second time this season, there is little doubt as to which one is on top in 2021.

Montesano got three first-half goals from three different players to earn a convincing 3-0 victory over the Beavers in Tenino, completing the season-sweep in the process.

Monte midfielder Paige Lisherness, who is known for being a lockdown defensive midfielder for the Bulldogs, showed what she can do on offense when she scored on a free kick in the third minute of the game to open the scoring.

Bulldogs leading scorer Mikayla Stanfield scored to double Monte’s lead in just the 11th minute of the game as Tenino struggled to match Monte’s level of play early in the contest.

Later in the half, Monte midfielder Bethanie Henderson scored an Olimpico — a corner-kick goal — to give the Bulldogs the all-important three-goal lead in the first half.

Henderson’s goal, which was her second Olimpico this season after the sophomore scored in a similar fashion in a win against Elma on Oct. 5, received high praise from Monte head coach Fidel Sanchez.

“It was one of the most beautiful goals I’ve ever seen in high school,” said Sanchez of Henderson’s corner kick that bent into the far-side of the net.

The Bulldogs (10-1, 5-0 1A Evergreen) outshot the Beavers (9-3, 2-3) 14-5 and didn’t allow Tenino a shot on goal in the second half.

Monte — the top-ranked team in the WIAA RPI 1A rankings — has now defeated Tenino four out of the previous five games, including a 3-0 win in last season’s 1A District 4 championship.

After suffering a 4-2 loss to Cashmere in the season-opener on Sept. 4, Monte has won 10 games in a row and has allowed just five goals during that span.

Montesano 3 0 — 3

Tenino 0 0 — 0

Shelton 1, Aberdeen 1 (Shelton wins 3-2 on penalty kicks)

Aberdeen’s season-long troubles finishing scoring chances continued on Thursday, leading to a loss in a penalty-kick shootout against Shelton at Shelton High School.

Aberdeen (7-6, 4-6 2A Evergreen) dominated during regulation, outshooting the Highclimbers (2-5-1, 2-3) 17-3 while playing the majority of the game in the Shelton half of the field.

But the Bobcats fell behind on an own goal on a miscue on a pass back to the keeper in the seventh minute.

Just four minutes late, Zoe Troeh dropped a ball off to Scotlyn Lecomte, who ripped a shot over the Shelton keeper from 35-yards out for her second goal in as many games to tie the score at 1-1.

Aberdeen pressed for the go-ahead goal in the second half, nearly scoring in the final minutes when Shelton had to clear a ball off the goal line.

After overtime ended with no additional scoring, the game moved to a penalty-kick shootout, where Annie Troeh and Lecomte converted their penalty tries.

Third-string keeper Dominique Trevino, who was in for injured backup keeper Andrea Meraz, saved a Shelton penalty and got a hand on another despite having no practice time at the position.

But it wasn’t enough as Shelton came away with the mild upset over the Bobcats.

“We played a very good game in all aspects except for accuracy and pace when finishing, including the shootout,” Aberdeen head coach Larry Fleming said. “Outstanding hustle by the girls tonight.”

Aberdeen’s JV team won 1-0, scoring on a Highclimbers own goal.

Aberdeen 1 0 — 1

Shelton 1 0 — 1

(Shelton wins 3-2 on penalty kicks)