After a tough, physical battle with Des Moines East on Friday night — which the Bobcats won 2-0 — MHS was back on the pitch less than 11 hours later for the opening game of the Nevada Tournament, where it would be pitted against Class 2A No. 6 Gilbert.

The Bobcats overcame their early-morning stupor with a 1-0 win against the Tigers, but that just set up a meeting with Class 1A No. 2 Iowa City Regina three hours later.

Marshalltown again overcame that obstacle for a 2-1 victory over the Regals to make the tournament final for the third time in the last three years, but waiting for the Bobcats was a tough Des Moines Hoover team, who came in ranked No. 16 in 3A and didn’t play a game the night before.

The boys were tired, beat down and bruised against the Huskies, but that didn’t stop them from once again pulling out the victory thanks to two goals by Brandon Ordaz Sanchez in the final 11 minutes of the contest, lifting the Bobcats to the Nevada Tournament championship for the third-straight year.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - The Marshalltown boys soccer team poses while holding up three fingers after winning the Nevada Tournament for a third-straight year on Saturday. The Class 3A No. 15 Bobcats beat 2A No. 6 Gilbert, 1A No. 2 Iowa City Regina and 3A No. 16 Des Moines Hoover en route to the championship.

MHS head boys soccer coach Scott Johannes said what his team accomplished, winning three games against ranked teams less than 20 hours after a tough game the night before, is something remarkable.

“It does a lot for their confidence when we win these close ones,” Johannes said. “When you blow somebody out, OK that’s a win, but when you are tied and don’t score until the last 10 or 13 minutes whatever it is, that’s huge. At the end of a run like this, with three games in one day let alone last night, when we can get different guys in there like we did today that makes it fun.”

The final win against Hoover (10-5) might have been the gutsiest for the Bobcats (12-1) during their current 12-game winning streak. In the first half Marshalltown dictated the pace, outshooting the Huskies 12-5, but the shots weren’t finding their mark.

Hoover came out strong in the second half and it was clear the Bobcats were exhausted, their runs weren’t as sharp and they couldn’t maintain possession. The Huskies took advantage and played much of the half in the MHS side of the pitch, but for every attack by Hoover the Bobcat defense stepped up and kept them off the board.

Junior defenseman Austin Shomo said during the Hoover onslaught he and the rest of the defenders were essentially on autopilot, so he wasn’t really sure how they kept the sheet clean.

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown senior Brandon Ordaz Sanchez (4) puts a touch on the ball in the box in front of Des Moines Hoover defender Der Htoo, right, during the first half of the Bobcats’ 2-0 win over the Huskies in the final of the Nevada Tournament on Saturday. Ordaz Sanchez scored both goals in the final 11 minutes of the contest.

“I don’t really know, to be honest,” Shomo said, sweat pouring down his face after the win. “We all knew that we had 30 minutes left and we had put everything else that we had out on the line to get to this point, so we wanted to keep it up.”

Luckily in the first two games the defense had done its job and not given goalkeeper Jesus Munoz too much work, because he had his hands full against the Huskies. Munoz finished with seven saves, each one more crucial than the next, and Shomo said knowing Munoz has the posts locked down makes his job easier.

“It’s a great feeling to have, knowing we have him behind us because he doesn’t let anything in. We can all play much more confident when he’s back there,” Shomo said.

After nearly 20 minutes of domination from Hoover, the Bobcats finally got some looks on offense, and that was all they needed. In the 50th minute, Jose Torres had a clear lane to the goal but wisely chose to find Ordaz Sanchez, rather than attempt the shot himself.

“That was the only way we could have defeated them because we had so many chances but we couldn’t get it inside,” he said. “I saw Brandon open and I centered it because I knew he was going to score and I have faith in my teammates, and he scored it.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON - Marshalltown junior Jose Torres celebrates after connecting with teammate Brandon Ordaz Sanchez for an assist on the second of two goals in the Bobcats’ 2-0 win over Des Moines Hoover in the Nevada Tournament final on Saturday.

Just two minutes later Torres found Ordaz Sanchez again for another strike, breaking the back and the will of the Huskies and essentially ending the game.

“It was relief, it’s short halves, we were well into having less than 12 minutes left, and when you have a battle like that and put one into the net, it’s big,” Johannes said. “Up until that point it’s pretty much anybody’s game, so that was a fun shot. It was a great play all around, great pass and assist and a great shot.”

While Torres had two assists in the final, he scored all three of the goals in the earlier games against Iowa City Regina and Gilbert, giving him eight total points on the day. Torres is now one goal off the lead in 3A with 17 total scores, and his 39 total points is also just one point behind the class leader.

Torres has often said his success does not just belong to himself, and he echoed that point again after the tournament win on Saturday.

“I am having a great season because of the boys,” he said. “It’s not just me, it’s all the integrity the boys give to the team, it’s all the talks, it’s just the motivation that each one player gives to another player, and that’s fantastic.”

T-R PHOTO BY THORN COMPTON

As for how it felt to win the Nevada Tournament for a third time in his three years on the team, Torres said it never gets old.

“It feels really good because that means we come here to fight and show other teams what we are made of,” he said.

Shomo went one further than Torres, saying this recent run of success for the team has been incredible.

“This is the best season I have ever played of soccer, this is one of the most proud moments I’ve had. We were all gassed and we put everything on the line,” Shomo said.

That team aspect, the ability to have multiple people step up when the chips are down, is what Johannes said his team has shown tremendously during its 12-game streak.

“As you witness in this last game, it’s different guys,” he said. “It was Jesus doing his thing in the back and Jose dishing it to somebody else and Brandon coming up huge. I tell those guys all the time, ‘you’re going to get a couple today,’ and I really want them to focus on that and Brandon delivered.”

There are only four games left on the schedule in the regular season for Marshalltown, two on the road this upcoming week against Mason City and 3A No. 1 Waukee and two back at home the following week against Ames and Johnston. That game against the Warriors will be the toughest left, but Shomo said he sees no reason why his team can’t get by them and keep the train rolling.

“We want to make it to state and be state champions at the end of this,” he said.

Nevada Boys Soccer Invitational

Saturday

At Nevada

Quarterfinals

Des Moines Hoover 1, Nevada 0

Perry 3, Kuemper Catholic 0

Marshalltown 1, Gilbert 0

Iowa City Regina 3, Greene County 3 (Iowa City Regina wins 4-3 on PKs)

Consolation Semifinals

Nevada 2, Kuemper Catholic 1

Gilbert 2, Greene County 1

Championship Semifinals

Des Moines Hoover 3, Perry 0

Marshalltown 2, Iowa City Regina 1

Finals

Seventh Place

Greene County 5, Kuemper Catholic 1

Fifth Place

Gilbert 2, Nevada 1

Third Place

Iowa City Regina 1, Perry 0

Championship

Marshalltown 2, Des Moines Hoover 0

——

Marshalltown 2, Iowa City Regina 1

First Half

MHS — Jose Torres (Rene Hernandez), 3:14.

ICR — Alec Wick, 9:01.

Second Half

MHS — Torres (Hernandez), 39:14.

Goalkeepers — MHS: Jesus Munoz (4 shots on goal-3 saves); ICR: Josh Dutchik (10-8).

Shots — MHS 19, ICR 6.

Shots on Goal — MHS 10, ICR 4.

Corner Kicks — MHS 10, ICR 3.

Marshalltown 2, Des Moines Hoover 0

First Half

No scoring.

Second Half

MHS — Brandon Ordaz Sanchez (Torres), 49:14.

MHS — Ordaz Sanchez (Torres), 51:09.

Goalkeepers — MHS: Munoz (7 shots on goal-7 saves); DMH: Pleh Reh (4-2).

Shots — MHS 15, DMH 11.

Shots on Goal — MHS 4, DMH 7.

Corner Kicks — MHS 3, DMH 0.

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