The Morse boys soccer team secured its second clean sheet over Gardiner this season on Tuesday. Cooper Sullivan/The Times Record

BATH — Playing through bumps, bruises, aches and pains during the latter half of the regular season isn’t uncommon as teams try to finish strong. Playing through all that and still performing at a high level is more uncommon. It’s not impossible, however.

Morse’s Ellis Vallade missed the beginning of the season due to an “issue” with his right hip flexor, one he is still dealing with in mid-October, but he refused to slow down Tuesday night. The senior forward recorded his third hat trick of the season while leading Morse to a 3-0 boys soccer home win over Gardiner.

“He’s a dynamic player, he’s a passionate player, he’s really hard to stop,” Morse head coach Chuck Reece said. “What really plays off of him well is when guys focus on him, we can go to Christian (Hallowell), and if they focus on Christian, we have other options as well underneath, with (Ashton Jacobs) making great shots all season. It’s the full roster that shows up willing to do the work, and they don’t care where the goals come from.”

The Shipbuilders’ first goal came in the 14th minute after a Hallowell feed sent Vallade down the left side, ahead of defending Tigers with enough room to unleash a strong shot across the box.

Morse (11-1) maintained control of pace and possession for the first 20 minutes, with few Gardiner (9-3) shots getting past the defensive back line that stymied the Tigers with body blocks and successful clear outs.

Gardiner’s Kian Alves had the opportunity to tie the match and add to his team-leading total of 20 goals during the 22nd minute, but his acrobatic bicycle kick just missed to the left of the net.

The Class B teams played fast and physical defense throughout, before a 39th minute foul from the left side of the box allowed Morse the chance to extend their lead. Hallowell took the free kick and found Vallade in traffic for a quick header, their second connection of the night.

“Our team does a pretty good job finding Chris in the midfield, finding those open gaps, and then Chris does a good job turning when he can and then sliding me the ball through,” Vallade said. “We have a lot of good luck with that.”

“We work day in, day out,” Hallowell said. “Our chemistry is great. I just know (where) all my teammates are, and they do what they need.”

Gardiner had its fair share of opportunities coming out of the break, but could not capitalize on any. Sometimes it was the case of a mistimed kick, sometimes it was the Morse senior goalkeeper Waylon Rhorer diving to make one of his five saves.

The Tigers were without four starters for a significant amount of time due to injury or a yellow card. Head coach Nick Wallace mentioned that the shorthanded roster made it difficult to execute any adjustments, but nonetheless, he was proud of the team’s effort.

“I think on any other day, probably three or four of those (shots go) in the back of the net,” Wallace said. “That’s how unfortunate the game of soccer works.”

Despite the comfortable lead, Morse’s attack did not relent in the final minutes. Defensive pressure from Vallade gave the senior possession around midfield, who then took it the rest of the way, weaving through multiple defenders before tapping it in and making it a three-goal game with 7:56 remaining.