The conditions were far from ideal, with a cold, windy, rainy evening greeting the boys at the opening kick, and the Tigers were dominating time of possession and shots, though they hadn’t scored at all.

After halftime that all changed, however, as Jose Torres did what he’s done in the last seven-straight games: score. Torres put the first goal of the game on the board in the 43rd minute, then after Ronaldo Ordaz made it a 2-0 lead in the 60th minute Torres found the back of the net again in the 63rd minute to put MHS up 3-0, a margin the Bobcats would hold until the final buzzer sounded.

Torres said after struggling in the first half the Marshalltown boys knew they needed to step it up in the second.

“It was time to get back into the game because in the first half we had no possession or nothing, they had it all the game,” he said. “It was time to step it up and fight, they were fighting so we had to fight too because it’s our home.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown junior Jose Torres celebrates after scoring the first of his two goals in the second half of the Bobcats’ 3-0 win over West Des Moines Valley on Tuesday at Leonard Cole Field.

MHS head coach Scott Johannes said for the first 40 minutes he didn’t recognize the team on the pitch, and that was because his boys were letting the name on the front of their opponent’s jerseys get into their heads.

“We were playing hesitant, which I think isn’t just a Marshalltown soccer thing, it’s Marshalltown as a whole when we play a team like Valley,” Johannes said. “We think, ‘it’s Valley, what are we going to do?’ But we watched and at halftime told them, ‘they are kicking the ball long and running under it, we are not getting the 50/50 balls, we’re dribbling too much, let’s play our game.’ When you’ve got 20 guys saying the same thing at halftime, it’s time to go execute and that’s what we did.”

While it was the three goals that gave the Bobcats (8-1, 3-0) the win on the scoreboard, Johannes said his team likely doesn’t win the game without the effort from goalkeeper Jesus Munoz.

In the previous seven games of this win streak Munoz hasn’t been challenged much, but against the Tigers (10-4) he was tested early and often. Valley had 11 total shots, five shots on goal and four corner kicks in the first half alone, but through all of that onslaught Munoz held strong, finishing the game with seven total saves and another shutout to his name. He even had the assist on Torres’ first goal from a drop kick on the other side of the pitch.

“We had the shutout because of his first half. I don’t know if he drank an extra Pepsi today or what, but he was definitely up and really prepared,” Johannes said. “After every game I always tell him that there’s nobody better, nobody better back there. I have all the confidence in him that he can stop anything that comes, and tonight was that night that we absolutely needed him to do that.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

Munoz said the confidence his coach instills in him helps, but it’s also the confidence he has in his teammates that makes him want to keep playing hard.

“I have trust in my team and I am going to do everything I can to keep it a clean sheet,” Munoz said. “I was just focused, telling myself, ‘focus on the ball, focus on the ball,’ and eventually I got it.”

That kind of chemistry is evident all over the pitch for Marshalltown, and it is most easily seen on the offensive side from Torres. In the last eight games now, Torres has scored in every one and racked up 14 total goals in the process. But, it’s when other players score, like Ordaz’s goal to make it 2-0 on Tuesday, that Torres really lets loose and celebrates for his teammates.

“I love seeing other people score because that gives us more confidence and trust in our teammates, and that’s what we need,” he said.

It’s that ability to score quickly and make teams pay for mistakes that Johannes said makes his team so dangerous.

“In soccer, a 2-0 game is still really close,” he said. “All of a sudden 3-0 is a difference, they are still pushing but we are basically pretty content at that point.”

With yet another ranked team out of the way and the winning streak still going, Johannes said his boys understand what they accomplished on Tuesday is a big deal, but it also shouldn’t be the end of their growth.

“It is a big win, but it’s also next in the line,” Johannes said. “I was telling them before the game that we should be able to play with these guys, and we proved that, but it’s another game. We have hopefully four more this week.”

Marshalltown is back at it on Friday at home when it hosts Des Moines East starting at 7:30 p.m. at Leonard Cole Field.

Marshalltown 3, West Des Moines Valley 0

At Marshalltown

First Half

No scoring.

Second Half

MHS — Jose Torres (Jesus Munoz), 42:28.

MHS — Ronaldo Ordaz (Jack Play), 59:40.

MHS — Torres (Rene Hernandez), 62:06.

Goalkeepers — VAL: Kevin Qi (6 shots on goal-3 saves); MHS: Munoz (8-7).

Shots — VAL 13, MHS 10.

Shots on Goal — VAL 8, MHS 6.

Corner Kicks — VAL 7, MHS 4.

Yellow Cards — Seth Baker, VAL, 48:30.