Early blitz dooms Aberdeen in district-title loss

May 12—Entering Thursday's 2A District 4 championship game, the Aberdeen Bobcats had surrendered just four goals this season.

They allowed nearly that much in the first half alone.

Top-ranked Columbia River blitzed Aberdeen for three goals in the first 12 minutes of the game to hand the Bobcats a 3-0 loss — Aberdeen's first of the season — and claim a second consecutive district title at O'Rourke Field in Vancouver.

The Bobcats (17-1 overall) found out just how good the Rapids (20-0) are immediately after the opening whistle as senior midfielder Hunter Cunningham fed the ball to reigning Gatorade State Player of the Year Alex Harris, who flew past the Aberdeen defense and slotted a low, angled shot past a diving Antonio Granados for a goal just 15 seconds into the game.

Stunned and on their heels, Aberdeen allowed a second goal when a Harris corner kick got through a slew of bodies in front of the Bobcats net and onto the foot of sophomore forward Tyler Brown for a goal in the 10th minute.

Just two minutes later, Harris struck again, receiving the ball on a pass from forward Ryland Perron at midfield and wove through multiple Aberdeen defenders before placing a shot past the oncoming Granados for a 3-0 lead just 12 minutes into the game.

"(Harris) is the best player in the state and everybody know it. He's just terrific," Fleming said. "We thought we were ready. We obviously weren't. We made a mistake and whiffed on a header, he runs on to it and scores 20 seconds into the game. ... They got a couple of goals and part of it was that we just weren't hustling."

Aberdeen began to settle into the game with approximately 11 minutes left in the first half and put forth a much more competitive effort. Playing with increased energy and sense of urgency, the Cats started to gain control through the midfield and penetrate into the Rapids' defensive third, but struggled to get clean, dangerous shots against a Columbia River defense that held its form in the middle.

So Aberdeen started going over the top, sending in multiple long volleys toward the Rapids' 18-yard box.

On what was arguably its best scoring chance of the first half, Bobcats senior forward Carlos Mendoza leaped toward a high bounce inside the 18-yard box, but was unable to get a head on it as athletic Rapids keeper Cameron Harris jumped up to grab the loose ball.

The Bobcats continued to show better form in what turned out to be a back-and-forth second half. Aberdeen continued to work the wings and send in arcing lobs toward goal, with Cam Harris repeatedly coming off his line to make a leaping catch.

Columbia River, meanwhile, created shooting opportunities from the top of the Cats' 18-yard box, with Granados making four diving saves in the second half to keep the game at 3-0.

"That last 65 minutes, I feel like we played even," Fleming said. "We didn't get as good of shots as them, obviously, but we had just as many. We looked solid. ... I think we finally settled down and I've got to give (Aberdeen defender) Hugo Garcia credit for marking (Alex Harris). After the first 15 minutes, we switched him on there and he just did a great job on him. That's a tough mark. ... To keep them shutout for 65 minutes, that's awesome."

The loss snaps a historic 17-game winning streak for Aberdeen — the longest in program history — and ends the Bobcats' undefeated season.

Aberdeen now looks forward to the 2A State Tournament, where seeds and matchups are expected to be announced this weekend.

Fleming said he hopes the season the Bobcats have had earns them at least one state playoff game at Stewart Field and is expecting them to be a possible 5-6 seed in the state tournament.

Fleming added that playing the state's likely No. 1 state-playoff seed ahead of the state tournament should give his team confidence, especially how it performed over the final 65 minutes of the game.

"I'm really proud of our effort," he said. "I was really looking forward to this game as a measuring stick for us. Yeah, we lost 3-0, which was unfortunate, but I feel like we can play with this team. ... I wanted to see if we were going to be able to win a state game and I feel like we can because if you take those first 15 minutes off, we're with this team. ... If we can play with Columbia River, we ought to be able to play with anybody."

Aberdeen 0 0 — 0

Columbia River 3 0 — 3

Scoring

First half — 1, Columbia River, Harris (Cunningham), 1st minute. 2, Columbia River, Brown (Harris), 10th minute. 3, Columbia River, Harris (Perron), 12th minute.

Second half — none.