PUYALLUP – At this point, there’s not too many superlatives left for Eastmont boys soccer coach Vidal Hurtado to describe Wildcats striker Aaron Leon.

Like many who’ve watched the CBBN Offensive Player of the Year – especially during the Class 4A state tournament – he can be left speechless.

Leon netted his third hat trick of the tournament and led seventh-seeded Eastmont to its first state championship early Saturday evening with a 3-1 victory against No. 8 Sumner at Sparks Stadium.

The Seattle U-bound star tallied 12 goals in Eastmont’s four state victories. He already set the school record with his 28thgoal during the campaign.With 18 more in the postseason, he finished with 46 for the season and 101 for his career.

“I was hesitant to say this the last couple weeks, but he's a generational player,” Hurtado said. “I won’t see a player like him in a long time.”

Saturday’s match was a stalemate through the first half. Eastmont was limited in its opportunities, but the Wildcats’ defense, which gave up just three goals in the state tournament, gave the offense time.

“It took us a while to get going,” Hurtado said. “They were putting in some good work, we just needed to produce. Halftime was about reorganizing offensively.”

Seven minutes into the second half, Leon broke the scoreless tie, blasting a shot as he slid right of the box to the left side of the goal.

About 15 minutes later, he took a feed from Jaden Espinoza and left-footed a shot into the net for a 2-0 lead.

He capped another hat trick in the final minutes by punching a penalty kick in after a Sumner player was issued a red card.

The Spartans were able to score in the waning moments, denying the Wildcats a second straight shutout.

Hurtado credited wings Kodyn Flynn and Rogelio Hernandez for their play, and Angel Ortega for his endurance.

“He’ll say, ‘Oh, I’m gassed … I think I got another run in me,’” Hurtado said.

Freshman Edwin De La Cruz had three saves for Eastmont, behind a staunch defense.

“We were really working hard for a clean sheet,” Hurtado said. “Our defense provided us with opportunities to attack.”

Eastmont will graduate 12 players, with many of them set to play collegiately.

The Wildcats finished the season 17-4-1, winning their final eight games and capturing the school’s first boys championship since a baseball championship in 1981.