The wind only tipped the scales so far in one direction.

The Marshalltown girls’ soccer team used the wind to its advantage in the first half and did well to deter Waterloo Columbus in the second half for a 4-0 shutout victory in Friday’s regular-season finale at Leonard Cole Field.

Steady winds of more than 20 miles per hour and gusts approaching 30 actually played into Marshalltown’s favor. The Bobcats scored three times with the wind at their backs in the first half and added another tally in the second half when accurate passing and ball control became more of a premium.

“I almost think we played better going into the wind than with it,” said MHS head coach Stacy Galema. “It just adds a lot of speed, and anything in the air is going to get caught up and you’ve got to adjust. We’re so used to normal — whatever normal is for weather in Iowa — but I think for the most part we were able to make our adjustments.”

The Bobcats (11-3-3) improved to 7-0-3 over their last 10 matches head into the postseason while posting their ninth shutout of the spring.

Waterloo Columbus (1-14-0) suffered its ninth shutout loss of the year. The Sailors would have had to score their season high in order to match Marshalltown’s first-half output, but instead the Bobcats tacked on an insurance goal after the break to steam into regional play having not lost since April 18.

“You know that anything can happen, and that’s on an average day,” Galema said of her team’s 3-0 halftime lead.

MHS sophomore goalkeeper Sophie Valdez Chavez made six of her seven saves in the second half to keep the clean sheet, while Yuri Ramirez had a goal and an assist in the first 14 minutes of the match.

“Sophie does a great job of being focused and knowing where she needs to be,” Galema said. “She’s very good at adjusting ahead of time and not just waiting for the ball. She can read the ball really well, especially in the air.”

Ramirez took a pass from defenseman Fatima Ramirez Rosas during the 10th minute, turned and fired from 34 yards away to beat Columbus keeper Samantha Houser just under the crossbar for the first goal of the match.

Less than four minutes later, Ramirez caught up to a long ball to the corner from Jorja Janssen, beat a defender around the corner and made a perfect pass into the box for Lilyia Christen. Her inside position on the defender made it a simple one-touch for Christen to beat Houser for the 2-0 Bobcat lead.

MHS freshman Claire Bonzer made it 3-0 with her strong right-footed boot around Houser with 17:50 left in the half. Columbus intercepted a Bobcat throw-in, but Bonzer picked off the Sailors’ next pass. She beat a defender to the next touch and rifled a shot into the net inside the far post.

Marshalltown added some unneeded insurance in the 70th minute while playing into the wind. Christen jumped in front of a Columbus goal kick and passed the ball to the middle of the field, where McKenna Coleman was waiting at the top of the box. Her quick right-footed boot split a pair of Sailor defenders and got past Houser for the 4-0 lead.

The Bobcats outshot Columbus 20-11, unofficially, but only eight of Marshalltown’s shots were on goal as the wind made for more of a challenge.

Speaking of challenges: the Bobcats go on the road for the Class 3A Region 3 semifinals, meeting No. 14 Des Moines Roosevelt (10-4-1) on May 28 at 7 p.m. at Mediacom Stadium.