W.F. West held a 1-0 lead for 41 minutes and held visiting Aberdeen scoreless for 64 minutes but the Bobcats rallied for two late goals to hand the Bearcats a 2-1 defeat on Thursday night at Bearcats Stadium.
“The guys played really hard, we just made a couple mistakes and they capitalized,” W.F. West coach Allen Anderson said. “Proud of their effort against a good team. We showed we belong in the same conversation with them, we’ve just got to learn how to hold onto a lead.”
The match had no bearing on the league standings as the Bearcats were already locked in at No. 3 and the Bobcats at No. 2, regardless of the outcome.
It was still an impressive showing for the Bearcats against a Bobcat team ranked No. 12 in the WIAA’s RPI rankings as the two teams prepare for the 2A District IV tournament on Tuesday.
Damian Hernandez put the Bearcats up early with a goal in the 17th minute off a cross from Gideon Priest.
W.F. West held Aberdeen scoreless all the way until the 65th minute when the Bobcats hit the equalizer on a free kick. Aberdeen connected on the go-ahead goal two minutes later to take the lead for good, ultimately securing the win.
“We controlled most of the game,” Anderson said. “The first half was really good; we had a lot of shots. We lost momentum in the second half and let them counter attack. Pretty proud of the boys, particularly Adrian Jaimes. No question, he was the best player on the field tonight.”
W.F. West next heads to Greater St. Helen’s League’s No. 2 seed, Ridgefield, for a 7 p.m. match on Tuesday in the opening round of districts. The format is double elimination.
