MONROE — Benji Vodegel figured he’d have an opportunity to break open in space when Monroe boys soccer hosted Everett on Tuesday, he just was not sure when.

In anticipation for an important Wesco North clash between two teams without a league loss this season, Monroe intently studied Everett’s game film this week to understand exactly how to execute against them. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first half, Monroe held off Everett’s early second-half push before Vodegel got his best opportunity of the night.

Receiving a long pass from Monroe’s half, Vodegel crossed midfield with plenty of real estate to work. Speeding past the last defender, Vodegel rolled into the center of the box and beat the keeper to give Monroe a 2-0 lead in the 56th minute.

“As a team, we (create) that opportunity, so I have to thank my team on that,” Vodegel said. “Because with how we play, it gives me and the other strikers space in the back, and we saw how (Everett) would play against Stanwood, so it just showed us that’d we’d have lots of space.”

Even after missing a few chances to add to their lead down the stretch, the Bearcats (6-1-2, 5-0-0 league) kept the Seagulls (5-4-0, 3-1-0 league) off the board in a 2-0 win to strengthen their place atop Wesco North 3A/2A.

Monroe coach Korey Hope said he thought it was one of the team’s most complete performances of the season, and it came at a great time.

“We moved the ball well,” Hope said. “(Rainy) conditions were a little bit of a challenge, but I thought we did a great job locking in, working as a team. Taking what we do on the training ground, putting it right into practice, which is sometimes a hard thing to do. So I thought from that standpoint, we controlled the game really well.”

Everett started out more aggressive pushing into Monroe’s half, but the Bearcats prevented them from creating dangerous chances. Sophomore Wyatt Baker sent a corner into the box that got sent over the cross bar by an Anthony Andriyash header in the seventh minute.

Around 10 minutes in, Monroe started to get going in Everett’s end, but the Seagulls stood up to the initial chances. Sophomore goalkeeper Royal Wescott-Paterson made a split leg save on Bearcats senior Julian Perez, and sophomore Terrance Gunder blocked the rebound that rolled out to senior Tony Granados in the 14th minute.

Monroe continued to build up its possession game, but Everett pushed back with the occasional run into their half. Sophomore Iker Fonseca set up sophomore Abel Tesfamariam with a well-timed through ball down the right wing behind the Bearcats back line in the 19th minute, but the first touch went straight to Monroe goalkeeper Toby Rathgeber.

The Bearcats finally struck in the 25th minute, as Perez executed a give-and-go with Granados that left Perez with a close-range shot in front of the left post.

“I was thinking about shooting it, but our coach says it’s better to give,” Granados said. “If you see someone else with a 90% chance of scoring, just play it to them instead.”

With the lead in hand, Monroe continued to tilt the field and earned a few free kick opportunities that ultimately led no where. The Seagulls ended the half with a free kick of their own, but Baker barely sent it over the bar right before the whistle.

Everett coach Ryan Gamache felt his team played flat in the first half, so he was encouraged by the push back early in the second. The Seagulls nearly got their equalizer with a shot to the top right corner in the 45th minute, but Rathgeber made a diving save to keep the ball out. Baker connected with Fonseca in the box on a corner kick in the 51st minute, but a second centering pass deflected off a defender’s leg and rolled right to Rathgeber.

“Second half, we came out definitely with the front foot forward,” Gamache said. “We kind of initiated a lot of the attacks, a lot of the play, definitely took the forefront of the that. … Just really looking for them to start matches that way. You put together that full game where you put a full 80 minutes of that kind of effort, you’re going to be very hard to beat.”

Before Everett could gain any more momentum, Vodegel doubled the lead with his long run in space up the field. For every Seagulls push after that, Monroe had an answer.

“We just play calm,” Vodegel said. “We knew that were going to come out with more pressure because they want to win, because they were also undefeated and second (in the league), so we had to show them that we are still competitors.”

Rather than sit on their lead, the Bearcats kept looking for more goals in the final minutes, but Wescott-Paterson came up with a handful of big saves to maintain the two-goal deficit, first using his hands to deflect a shot from Perez up and over the net on a breakaway in the 72nd before making a sliding save in the 74th minute that left Perez visibly frustrated on the ground.

“Royal’s taken huge steps this season as a sophomore,” Gamache said. “Just some of the saves he had tonight just kind of shows all the work he’s put in. He’s making those kind of just top-notch saves that those top goalies in varsity soccer are making, and he’s really been an anchor for us this year.”

Everett had one more chance to get on the score sheet when Andriyash intercepted the ball right in front of Monroe’s 18-yard box, but Rathgeber made a diving save to protect his shutout inside the final two minutes.

Through the first half of their league schedule, the Bearcats defeated every team once. With the remaining five games of the regular season coming against those same five league opponents, they’ll look to do it again.

“That’s our first goal every season, is to win Wesco North,” Hope said. “That’s the first thing available to us. That’s kind of the first box you have to tick if you want to go after bigger trophies as well, so that’s been our focus from the very beginning. Obviously, we want to win games in May, but to earn games in May, you got to be good in your division. And we know that all the teams in our division provide a unique challenge, Everett especially. Huge credit to them and (Gamache). … We knew that we needed to be prepared for the way that they play.”