The Marshalltown boys’ soccer team took its season-opening loss to heart and learned all the lessons it could for the first week of the spring.

Three matches and three decisive wins later, the Bobcats were feeling decidedly better than they did four nights earlier.

For the second time in as many opportunities, Marshalltown claimed first place in its own Bobcat Soccer Invite by beating Des Moines Christian, toppling the Lions 3-0 on a cold and windy Saturday at Leonard Cole Field.

The Bobcats improved to 3-1-0 overall after opening the season with a 5-2 home loss to Des Moines North, and chances that escaped MHS on that night are no longer getting missed.

“We talked about that night being a lesson,” said MHS head coach Scott Johannes. “Let’s move forward. If you’re going to lose a game, it’s best to do it early. I thought we played good, so let’s get some momentum and get some things going. Let’s come take care of business and get it rolling, so that’s what we wanted to do.”

After blanking Newton 6-0 on Thursday, Marshalltown carried that energy into Saturday’s frigid conditions and kept it going. Playing into the wind for the first half, the Bobcats held Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck out of the net for 40 minutes before turning the tide in the second.

With gusts up to 29 miles per hour reported for the day, Marshalltown put the extra momentum at its back and blasted away for seven goals in the second half and a 7-0 triumph over the Rebels.

MHS sophomore Gavin Misek had a hat trick, Aaron Ordaz Zambrano had two goals and two assists, while Angel Gomez and Andres Ordaz added scores.

Misek’s first two goals of the season came within 56 seconds of each other, putting the Bobcats up 2-0 less than six minutes into the second half. He finished off his three-goal game with Marshalltown’s last tally, taking the score to its 7-0 final off a pass from Antoni Rodriguez Torres with 12 minutes left.

Torres had two assists while Armando Estrada and Damien Segovia each had one helper in the lopsided win.

Needing to control the ball better against a traditionally sound Des Moines Christian side, Marshalltown passed with precision and determination to kick off the championship match and made good on its chances — even against the wind.

Misek cashed in again to start things for the Bobcats, converting a header off a corner kick from Ordaz in the seventh minute, and Angel Chavez Ordaz added another just 65 seconds later by burying a rebound off goalkeeper Carter Pickard’s save on a shot by Misek.

Gomez got his second of the day by ripping a 25-yard outswinger past Pickard in the 48th minute, taking advantage of an opportunity the likes of which escaped him in Tuesday’s season-opening defeat. In the loss to Des Moines North, Gomez had six shots and three on goal, but none of them found the back of the net.

Saturday was a different story for the junior forward, who sat out Thursday’s win with an injury before returning to action for Saturday’s home tournament.

“It meant a lot to me to come out and just show myself out in front of all the people, to prove myself that one game wouldn’t affect me,” said Gomez. “[Tuesday] was really frustrating, and then to watch my team play without me sucked, but they still got the win at the end of the day.

“Maybe [Tuesday] was a bad day for me, but today was a good day for me and the team.”

Marshalltown outshot Des Moines Christian 19-7, unofficially, with nine shots getting on net and three of them passing up Pickard. The Lions (2-1-1) attempted seven shots with six getting on net against MHS goalkeepers Jonathan Nunez and Giles Smith.

For the season, Marshalltown has scored seven of its 18 goals while going into heavy winds. It seemed like an improbable occurrence in Saturday’s gales, but two first-half goals went to show what the Bobcats can do when they possess the ball like they did against Des Moines Christian.

“We like this tournament, and we appreciate the local teams coming in,” Johannes said. “They’re great, solid teams every year.”

Des Moines Christian stopped South Tama County (0-2) in the second semifinal, 6-0, and Grundy Center/Gladbrook-Reinbeck (2-1) topped the Trojans 7-0 in the consolation contest.

Marshalltown made only slight lineup adjustments through the first week, but it’s been three shutout wins since the season-opening defeat.

“We have multiple guys that can play multiple positions,” Johannes said, “and that’s fun. Our plan is not for Gavin to stay in the back, but he’s filling a role that we need right now. But yet he knows exactly what he needs to do and what he can do when he moves up.”

Ordaz Zambrano, Marshalltown’s dominant senior midfielder, has five goals and two assists through four games, while Misek has four goals and one assist. Ordaz has four goals and four assists, while two players — Gomez and Chavez Ordaz have two apiece.

Six different players have accounted for the Bobcats’ 18 goals to this point, putting pressure on opposing defenses to stay balanced rather than focusing on certain players.

“Aaron and Andres just make a difference,” Johannes said of his midfielders. “Even if the ball doesn’t go through them, the other team has to be aware of both of them. It’s not like a 1-2 punch for those two — it’s 1-A and 1-B.”

The Bobcats jump back into Class 4A play with Tuesday’s home match against Des Moines Roosevelt to round out a five-game homestand to start the season. Marshalltown’s first road game is Friday at Des Moines Lincoln.

“Just because we lost the first one to Des Moines North doesn’t mean we’re a bad team,” Gomez said. “It was just an unlucky game. And after that we practiced harder, we learn from our mistakes, and we practiced from what we saw in that game and the mistakes we needed to fix.”