11/12/2023 Varsity - Bellevue vs Shorecrest 11-11-2023Bellevue 1-2 Shorecrest
3rd min 0-1 Shorecrest corner 11th min 0-2 Shorecrest FK 81st min 1-2 Lillian (Mia) That didn't go how we wanted it to. We lost our State quarterfinal 1-2 to a committed and well-organized Shorecrest team on Saturday night. It hurts. A lot. But well done to the Shorecrest team and coaches and we wish them well as they head to Sparks Stadium for the Final Four next week. It just wasn't our night. We had talked a lot in our pre-game meeting about set pieces. Shorecrest scores a lot of goals from free kicks and corners. That's not a criticism. that's respect for how Shorecrest has set up their team to be successful: they have players who serve a very good driven long ball, great headers of the ball, and a committed approach to pouncing on 2nd balls. It's a formula that works in tight post-season games. So we knew that if we could limit their set pieces in dangerous areas the odds would be in our favor for a successful overall outcome. However, as we noted yesterday after our win against Bonney (in a reverse situation) there is a difference between knowing something is coming, and actually stopping it. So we conceded after 3 minutes from a well-worked corner. We got caught watching the "washing machine" rotation around our goalkeeper (which we knew about ahead of time), and their tall center-back found a yard of space at the back post for a free header. Her initial attempt was blocked but the excellent Shorecrest #8 was quickest to react and poked the ball home from the doorstep. 0-1 Shorecrest. And just a few minutes later Shorecrest doubled their lead. More set pieces. This time we conceded a free kick from 30yards, and the Shorecrest #3 hit a controlled shot to the near-post side of our goal. 0-2 Shorecrest. Set pieces were the difference. For the balance of the remaining 70 minutes, Shorecrest gave a clinic on how to play tight, organized, and tactically sound defense. Their backline covered for each other on the wings to neutralize our speed advantages, and boomed all dangerous loose balls high and wide, taking no chances on a slick and slippery night. They slowed the pace of play. There were lots and lots of throw-ins. But even disciplined defensive tactics need moments of individual excellence when enduring a siege, and the Shorecrest keeper made several excellent saves when it looked certain we would score. It was one-way traffic as we camped out in the Shorecrest half trying to find a way to cut our two-goal deficit. We hit the post a lot. Sometimes even both posts with the same shot. We created plenty of great chances to get back into the game, but there are no post-season bonuses for possession statistics or shot advantages. It just wasn't our night. We got a consolation goal in the 81st minute already into 4 minutes of stoppage time when Leah played a smooth entry pass to Mia down the left wing, Mia crossed and Lillian snapped a header into the back of the net. It was a super goal, just too little and too late. Final Score 1-2 Shorecrest. Nobody wants to read about the many many life lessons that can be found in bitter defeat, so I'll save that truth for a later time (I get it, I hate losing too). Instead, I want to give a written hug to our nine seniors. They have been the core of our program for this season and the past four years. They are an extraordinary group of young women, and we'll miss them dearly. Thank you to Alex, Amber, Camille, Emilie, Gaby, Lexi N, Lexi T, Lillian, and Lily for everything you have given to this program. I'm sad our collective soccer journey has ended, but I'm looking forward to following along as you pursue your next adventures. Remember, soccer is the most important, least important thing. Finally, thank you to everyone who supported this program this year. Our families and supporters are positive and steadfast. Our parent volunteers are amazing and contribute so many opportunities for our girls to create lifelong memories. And huge thanks to our coaching staff for your dedication to this program: John, Annika, Payton, and Imad are tremendous coaches and even better people. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A week from today we'll gather again to reflect on what has been, with some time for the hurt of Saturday to subside, a wonderful edition of Bellevue girls soccer. See you all at the banquet. 11/12/2023 Varsity - Bellevue vs Bonney Lake 11-10-2023Bellevue 3-0 Bonney Lake
6th min Mia (Leah) 58th min Saleen (Mia)...or Mia (Alex)? 59th min Red Card Bonney Lake (2nd Yellow) 60th min Alex (unassisted) A wonderful thing about winning the Kingco Championship (our district tournament) is that we were among the first teams to qualify for State and earned 11 days of rest. Great right? But even after tryouts way back in August, we never had to wait eleven days to play a game. It's a long time. And although we have had some good training sessions in preparation for Bonney, nothing can simulate the physicality, nerves, and pace of actual games...let alone tournament elimination soccer. So the coaching staff entered our first 2023 state tournament game with optimism, but recognizing that gameday rust might tarnish our polish since our win against LW. Foreshadowing. The game started well. After just six minutes we had a lead, as Lily took a throw-in deep in Bonney territory that Lillian flicked centrally at the top of the box where Leah was waiting to help it along, squaring to Mia near the top of the D. Mia spun her defender and hit a ferocious one-time shot with her left foot that caromed off of the top of the crossbar and into the net. It was a promising start, and flick headers is something that we had worked on earlier this week in training so it was nice to see things move from the training ground to a game...Unfortunately, it wasn't indicative of what was to follow: a herky-jerky half of disjointed soccer where we failed to connect many passes, were late to tackles or dangled a leg, and were lucky to get to halftime with our lead intact. Rust. Very rusty. But all season this team has found a way to rally, to persevere, even when we aren't playing our most composed and stylish soccer. Our rally started with some personnel rotation. Our game plan for Bonney was to rotate our lineup liberally to take advantage of our depth, especially given that Bonney had played a competitive and tough game on Tuesday in a 2-1 victory over Southridge in the first round of the State tournament. Eleven days versus 2 days of rest. So we substituted early and often. And every player who came off the bench provided excellent minutes to our cause, especially in the 2nd half. It was the catalyst for a significantly better team performance in the final 40 minutes. The insurance goal came in the 58th minute from a Bonney Lake corner, their first and only of the game. Alex cleared with a powerful header upfield where Mia latched onto the ball a good 75 yards from the Panther goal. And. we. were. off. and. running. Mia charged straight at the final two Bonney defenders for the next 50 yards with Saleen sprinting in support to her right. Mia cut back across the defenders in the Bonney box and fired a shot that the keeper could only parry to her left...where Saleen was able to pounce and pound the ball into the open net (or did it cross the line before the final touch?...). 2-0 Bellevue. Mia's direct full-field run and shot were magnificent, but Saleen making the same 75yd run, at full sprint, staying onsides, in support of the play was exactly what we had discussed at halftime: wanting the ball and working hard to be in position to get it. So I was thrilled that Mia and Saleen combined for such a needed, and lung-busting counter-attack, regardless of which player got the final touch. Well done to all involved. Then directly from the kickoff, Bonney gave the ball away on their right and Mia picked up the loose ball at midfield right in front of our bench...and was clattered with a very late tackle directly on her ankle. Do I think the Bonney player was trying to hurt Mia? Absolutely not. The Bonney captain was likely frustrated at conceding a second goal (understandable), and the subsequent quick giveaway by her teammate directly from their kick-off couldn't have helped, and she made a rash tackle. It happens. But unfortunately, the Bonney player had already picked up a yellow card in the first half (clattering Maddy), and the lateness and intensity of her foul on Mia left the referee with no choice: Second yellow card. Which then by rule resulted in a red card and immediate ejection. The visiting Panthers were not only down two goals but had to play the rest of the game with 10 players. A minute after the red card, in the 60th, Alex intercepted a wayward Bonney pass 25 yards from their goal after excellent pressing by Saleen, and our senior captain didn't hesitate, unleashing a powerball knuckler that was already bulging the net before the keeper even moved. And that's how fast a game can change. Two minutes prior, the game was a tightly contested one-goal game. Two minutes later, the score was 3-0 and Bonney was down a player, and the game was effectively over. Over last 20 minutes we patiently maintained possession and saw the game to conclusion. No need for a wider margin. Final score. 3-0 Bellevue. Well done team on a playoff shutout. We attack as 11, and we defend as 11, but our backline deserves kudos for managing a very good and busy Bonney center forward. Well done. So now we move on to face our semi-final opponent from last year: #9 Shorecrest. Shorecrest has returned almost everyone from their Final Four run in 2022. They are organized and press hard all over the field. The Scots advanced to the quarterfinal by defeating Peninsula 1-0 in golden goal 2nd overtime. They will be riding high from an emotional and dramatic win and I believe it will likely be a very competitive and tightly contested quarterfinal with a birth to the Final Four at Sparks Stadium the spoils for the victor. The kick-off is at 6pm. Bellevue stadium. Our last game on home turf for this Bellevue team. And for our seniors. Let's make it one to remember with a joyful celebration at the final whistle. No more rust. Three. Is the magic number. Ding ding. Bellevue 4-1 LW
4th min 1-0 Alex (Leah) 20th min 2-0 Alex (Mia) 51st min 2-1 LW goal 55th min 2-1 LW missed PK 65th min 3-1 Mia (Alex) 72nd min 4-1 Alex (Raina) The 2023 Kingco Champion is Bellevue Girls Soccer!!! Be Fearless and play. That was my message to our team before we kicked off against LW in the Kingco Championship. Opportunities to play for a trophy in a final are rare. At any level. Nerves can jangle. Butterflies can flutter. Senses working overtime. Thoughts get foggier. And time moves more quickly but somehow also more slowly...and those feelings are wonderful! Playing in a final is so so special. It's to be cherished. So all I wanted for our team was to absorb all those emotions, enjoy the slightly queasy joyous anticipation of a big game, be fearless, and play. It is difficult to beat a good team three times in a season. LW knows our tendencies and personnel, and we know theirs. But there is a difference between understanding a team and stopping them. Was the game pretty? Absolutely not. The first half more closely resembled a scrum in the Rugby World Cup (congratulations S. Africa) than the flowing poetry of the beautiful game. But that's the thing about playing a fall-season high school sport like girls soccer, by late October and November, the conditions worsen, and a team needs to be able to win in lots of different ways. It's like the old cliche in the NFL that passing teams own August and September, but by December and January, if you want to contend for a championship, you need to be able to run the ball and play solid defense. The same is true in high school girls soccer. When conditions allow, we can play a fast, flowing passing possession game, but sometimes, when the ball and field are slippery slick, the air is cold, there are more throw-ins than connected passes, and your opponent is launching a relentless amount of long balls at your backline, we can field a line-up that can win with tackle toughness, aerial superiority, and lightning quick counter-attacks. And that's what we did. The first few minutes set a positive tone for our girls. In the 4th minute, Mia got around the LW defense on the left wing and earned a corner. LW cleared but Maddy recovered and recycled the ball back to Mia who sent a cross into a dangerous area, Lillian and Leah both battled LW defenders for the ball, Leah emerged victorious and slid a simple pass across the box to Alex who finished from 8 yards. 1-0 Bellevue. Gritty. Then in the 20th minute, we added a second. Mia alertly tucked inside from the wing on defense, and when the LW midfielder took a heavy touch trying to switch the ball, Mia was in the right place to win the challenge just inside our half. And she was off. 60 yards and several desperate LW defenders later, Mia cut-back a delightful cross (on the ground) that Alex hammered home from 10 yards. Devastatingly quick, clever, direct, and efficient. And it all started with good defensive positioning and awareness. Halftime score. 2-0 Bellevue. We discussed cleaning up a few things at half (more patience, better communication, FTJ, trying to pass the ball to players wearing blue jerseys, etc.) and took the field confident but wary of an inevitable LW push. And yet, for the first ten minutes of the 2nd half, we maintained control of the game. It still wasn't glittering football, but we weren't put under a lot of pressure either. Then in the 51st minute, the LW center-back launched yet another innocuous-looking, long, looping ball towards our box which we allowed to bounce (unacceptable), and even worse, we didn't challenge for the 2nd ball ("you take it"; "no, no, I insist, you take it: "oh really, I couldn't impose, you take it..."). Finally, the LW attacker ignored our deferential indecision and simply hit the ball into the open net from 6 yards. 2-1 Bellevue. Frustrating. But mistakes happen, and we move on. But then on top of that, we had some odd refereeing just a few minutes later. For the most part, I thought our crew did a good job managing the game, the center had a respectful and decisive demeanor, and although the game wasn't perfect (no game is), it was never out-of-control or tilted either way; BUT, I'm still perplexed at how the LW forward was able to push Amber down (hard) outside of our box (the video is so clear, straight-arm push...) without a foul, and the subsequent scramble in the box led to a PK. Yes, it was a clear and deserved PK, but if high school soccer had VAR, the penalty would've been waived away due to the clear and obvious infraction in the build-up. But no VAR. So the PK stood. And this was the pivotal moment of the game. With a successful PK, the score would've been tied and the entire tone of the game would've shifted dramatically. However, Emilie stood her ground, made herself big and intimidating, and the LW shooter sent the ball high and wide. Unjust bullet dodged. Less than ten minutes after that, in the 65th minute, we had restored our two-goal advantage. Leah won the ball at midfield with excellent pressing and then nutmeg-passed the ball through the legs of the charging LW defender to Alex who was playing striker. Alex in the open field with only two defenders to beat is a terrifying nightmare for a center-back. So it was fitting, on the night before Halloween, that Alex would make LW nightmares come true, splitting the center-back and fullback with one touch and racing alone on goal before firing a hard shot that the Kang keeper did well to parry...but only as far as a sprinting Mia, who had worked hard to support the run and got her reward by blasting the rebound into the back of the net from 6 yards. 3-1 Bellevue. Our sideline shelter was jumping in celebration. In the 73rd minute, the icing was spread on the victory cake, as Alex completed her Kingco Championship hat-trick. Mia again got around her defender on the left wing, crossed to the back post where Raina calmly squared a controlled volley to Alex to master-blaster into the net from 5 yards out. 4-1 Bellevue. Final score. The AD brought the trophy onto the field where captain Gaby scooped it up and was immediately surrounded by the rest of the 2023 Kingco Champion Bellevue Wolverines In a jumping, hollering, pink-socked, group hug of happiness. Photos. Smiles. Lucky Charms. And the three-peat is complete. This is the 10th (yes tenth!!) consecutive year that Bellevue has played in the Kingco Championship game, and the 2023 title is our third-in-row, with 7 total championship titles during that period. More importantly, our win against LW tonight qualifies us for the 2023 state tournament. We. are. going. to. State!!! Stats were in our favor, but not overwhelmingly. 15/5 shots/corners to 7/1 for the Kangs. Good enough. Job done. So what's next? The state tournament seeding and brackets will be released on Sunday afternoon, November 5th. We won't know our fate until then, but we'll likely hold onto our #1 ranking and be given the #1 seed in the tournament, which means that we'll get a BYE in the first round which will be played on Tuesday 11/7. Therefore, we'll host a pod of four teams for the round of 16 at Bellevue High School beginning on Friday, 11/10. If we win our sweet sixteen game, we will advance to play a quarter-final on Saturday, 11/11. The State Tournament Final Four is Nov 17th &18th and is held each year at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. Every year, our ambition is to go to Sparks. Only four teams get the privilege, and we want to be one of them. So we have a long rest until our next playoff game. We'll take Tuesday off from training and resume on Wednesday and Thursday this week with Friday another rest day. And next week we'll begin to earnestly prepare for our first state tournament opponent. Thank you to all of our friends and family, and especially our student supporters for giving us a home-field advantage with enthusiastic cheering and clever heckling ("cucumber?") against LW. It makes a difference. I'm so proud of our team. The magic number is four. 10/27/2023 Varsity - Bellevue vs Liberty 10-26-2023Bellevue 3-2 Liberty
2nd min BHS 0-1 Liberty goal 16th min BHS 0-2 Liberty goal 34th min BHS 1-2 Alex (Maddy) corner 58th min BHS 2-2 Alex (Saleen) 81st min BHS 3-2 Lillian (Saleen & Alex) The coaching staff spent a lot of time thinking about how to approach our last regular season game against a very good Liberty team. For league standings, the result didn't matter. However, I'm a firm believer that momentum does matter, and as long as we were going to take a long twisty bus ride to the Renton hills, we should treat the game like a serious dress rehearsal for our upcoming playoff campaign. Full commitment. And those were our marching orders as we took the field on the first really cold and chilly evening of our season. The Liberty Stadium is beautiful, but sits in a little valley and it feels like the field is 10 degrees colder than the published temperature. And that's exactly how we looked as the referee blew his whistle for kick-off: cold. Arms folded across jerseys. fingers pulling on long sleeves and shoulders scrunched up around our ears as if that would add a few degrees of body warmth. And so it wasn't surprising that we played like we looked: cold. On the other side, Liberty came out buzzing, their excellent midfield passing and moving in constant triangles with their spacing discipline giving them quick switch opportunities with every possession. And that's how they scored their opening goal in just the 2nd minute, we pressed as a pack on our right wing but Liberty was able to break the press and find their midfielder for a quick switch to their left winger. Our defensive angles were wrong, the winger charged into our box and hit a wonderful shot into the upper right corner. Unstoppable shot, but our slowness in defensive shifting created the space for the Liberty opportunity. Again, we looked cold. And in the 16th minute, we dug ourselves a deeper hole. Again, Liberty rotated the ball to their left winger, we didn't close the space quick enough, and the winger hit a speculative shot from 40 yards that arced high in the chilly air...before bouncing into the back of the net. For those of you who have watched Ted Lasso, you'll probably remember Ted's speech about "being a goldfish." That having the short memory of a goldfish enables us to move on without any lasting repercussions. Mistakes happen in soccer. I would even argue that mistakes should be encouraged in soccer (at least for the first time of trying...) because that means we are attempting new things and gaining valuable experience. But sometimes we just need to forget and move on. This is one of those times. Goldfish. Enough said. Bellevue 0-2. Then, 0-2 down, we finally began to warm up and slowly impose ourselves on the game. I liked that we didn't panic or try to score three goals with every kick of the ball. There was plenty of time to rectify the situation, but we did need to increase our overall tempo. And we did. In the 34th minute our increased pressure and ball possession got us back into the game. We earned a corner, and as we saw twice against MI on Tuesday, Maddy delivered an excellent ball into a dangerous area and Alex rose highest to head the ball firmly into the net. Bellevue 1-2. Halftime. We made some adjustments at halftime, but mostly the message was about intensity and tight organization. Liberty's triangle of midfielders is really good, but due to their style of play, they have to cover a lot of territory to make their system work. And that's tiring. And so we consistently rotated our midfield and wingers, and wore them down with switch passing of our own. The midfield spaces got wider and wider. One of the obvious strengths of our team is that we aren't a starting 11, we are a team. And that enables us to keep legs fresher than most of our opponents. And so in the 58th minute, Kenny won the ball in midfield with a first-time pass to Saleen who turned deftly and released Alex down the left with an incisive backdoor pass. Alex took a touch to settle and blasted a low hard shot with her left foot that was too much for the keeper to stop. Bellevue 2-2. Momentum is real. And it matters. But facing must-win games next Monday, neither coach wanted an extra 10 minutes of overtime for a game that wouldn't change the overall standings. Digging deep to get a result is a collective skill that is often required in November high school soccer. And so we pressed on and I was pleased to see that the quality of our soccer got better and better. We created several excellent chances to get the game-winner in the last phase of the game, but the net didn't bulge until the 81st minute, well into the three added minutes of injury time. Lily threw the ball into Saleen down our right side and our freshman midfielder spun and took a touch into the box surrounded by four Liberty defenders. Saleen was quick enough to launch a low hard shot that the keeper was able to parry onto the far post, but the rebound seemed destined to be cleared by a well-positioned defender; however, Alex lunged to her full length and somehow got a big toe to the ball, poking it to Lillian at the top of the box...and Lillian didn't hesitate but opened her body and sent a perfectly struck banger to the upper right corner. Pandemonium. Bellevue 3-2 with almost the last kick of the ball. Final score. Momentum is real. And although we started slowly. Coldly. we found a way to get the job done. And that is an experience that should help us as we enter the tournament phase of our season. Safety nets are removed and every game is an opportunity to progress towards our ultimate goal. Our game statistics reflected how the game felt. 15/5 shots/corners to 7/3 for Liberty with most of our statistical advantage coming in the second half. Not overwhelming, but enough to get across the line. As some of you know, my pre-season statistical expectation for this Bellevue team was to average 20 shots and 5 corners per game while allowing 4 shots and 1 corner for the opposition over the full course of the season. I believe in probabilities and that's a winning formula. Our final regular season statistics after last night: Shots: 20.375 Corners: 5.06 Goals per game: 3.68 (56 goals in 16 games..all-time high) Opposition Shots: 3.06 Opposition Corners: 0.94 Opposition Goals per game: 0.56 (9 goals in 16 games) Spooky. And the first time a BGS varsity team exceeded every team KPI I had set in preseason. Now we tear up the stats of the past and focus on one game at a time. Past stats don't win games, players do. To that end, we'll welcome several JV players from our Kingco champion junior varsity squad who will join us for our playoff run. We can roster 22 players for each playoff game, and that roster can change from game to game, so we carry slightly more than that for the duration of the playoffs so that we have maximum flexibility in case of injuries, match-ups, etc. There was a very long list of JV players who were ready for varsity-level play (our JV team is full of talent), but we selected our call-ups based on positional needs and season-long performances. Most importantly, congratulations to our JV team for an excellent season. I watched every minute, and they played beautiful soccer. The future of the BGS program is strong. Our total focus is now on Lake Washington on Monday night. As I wrote last week, beware the angry kangaroo. And their pride will have taken a punch after the 7-0 result we put on them last time we met. So I expect an angry mob of kangaroos on Monday (yes, a group of Kangeroos is called a "mob"...). We'll be ready. Momentum is real. The magic number is five Bellevue 3-2 Liberty
2nd min BHS 1-0 Anna (Kasia) 38th min BHS 1-1 Liberty goal 48th min BHS 2-1 Arianna (Kasia corner) 54th min BHS 3-1 Savannah (Mack) 78th min BHS 3-2 Liberty goal Thursday night was the final game of the 2023 JV girls soccer season as we traveled to chilly Liberty High School. While the sun was out for our warm ups, the minute the sun went down, temperatures dropped, drastically. But did it impact the girls? Maybe, but not in the first minutes of the game. We talked pregame about putting everything we had learned and worked on all season into this game. One last chance to put your mark on this season. Right way the girls came out flying. We almost scored from the kickoff if not for some last-minute defending by the Patriots. But just seconds latter a sequence of passes, the best we’ve seen all season, led to our first goal. A ball played out of the back line started us moving forward as we found our midfielders. Two quick passes found Morgan’s feet who then tapped it to Kasia on the right flank. She took the ball all the way to the end line where she crossed it perfectly to a streaking Anna for the finish. It was an eight-pass sequence and a thing of beauty. As much as I had hoped this would open the scoring flood gates, it just didn’t happen. Credit to Liberty who settled down after the early goal and starting connecting passes and putting us under pressure. Faith Cody, our trusted stat keeper, notified me as the first half was coming to a close that the Patriots had more shots than us. Ugh. With just minutes to go until the break, Liberty finally broke through with a long shot from about 30 yards out. The ball floated over Sofia’s head and she couldn’t keep it out of the net. Halftime. During our halftime discussions, talked about keeping our focus until the whistle. It is a problem we’ve had all season; giving up silly goals right before either halftime or the end of the game. Focus, focus, focus. As I mentioned earlier, putting a mark on this final game was a big pregame talking point. And just minutes into the second half, two of our mainstays in the midfield, Arianna and Sav, put their stamp on the game. First off, Arianna found herself in the right spot in the 48th minute. A Kasia corner kick was batted down by the Patriot goalkeeper. Several players pounced on it but Mack’s shot was blocked and several Liberty clearances failed to clear the area. The ball bounced out to Ari about 12 yards out and she calmly put it in the back of the net for her first goal of the season. It was some smart soccer as she didn’t try to overhit the shot and it nicely rippled the back of the net. And speaking of first goals, Savannah was up next. Just minutes after Ari’s goal, Savannah gathered in a loose ball, cut around her defender and launched a beautiful shot over the top of the keeper. As she ran off the field, she reminded me it was her first goal since Freshman year. Congrats. As much as I would like to say we cruised the rest of the way in this game, it just didn’t happened. Always a team that makes it hard on ourselves, a bit of miscommunication in the back lead to a Patriot goal in the 78th minute. So with minutes to go we had to see this game out clinging to a 3-2 lead. But fortunately some timely clearances and deft dribbling got us to the final whistle and we let out a sigh of relief. The victory gave us the outright KingCo JV championship with a 8-1-1 league record (12-2-1 overall). It was a great season as we got contributions from everyone on the roster. 10 of our girls had either a goal or an assist as we scored 48 goals and had 9 shutouts. I want to thank everyone for their support this season and a special shoutout to Stacy Heinemann our team manager. It takes an army to get through the season. Thank you. Bellevue 6-1 Mercer Island (Senior Night)
12th min Lillian (Maddy) corner 32nd min MI Goal (slop) 38th min Saleen (Leah) 49th min OG (Mia cross) 56th min Kaitlyn (Maddy) corner 58th min Saleen (Amy) 64th min Camille (Nora) For the third consecutive season Bellevue Girls Soccer clinched the Kingco regular season title. It is one of three titles that we are chasing this season: League title (done), the Kingco Tournament championship (Monday), and of course, the crown jewel, the 3A state championship (tbd). The Kingco title earns us the right to host the Kingco championship game which will be on Monday, Oct 30th at 7pm against Lake Washington (remember them?). The winner of that game will go directly to the state tournament, while the defeated team will have another chance to qualify but will need to win two additional tough games to get a bid. We'd prefer the direct route. What made our first title of 2023 even sweeter was that it happened on Senior Night...not only Senior Night, but Senior Night against our traditional rivals Mercer Island. It was a perfect night with a thoughtful and well-organized ceremony during pre-game. Thank you to the parent volunteers who made the night so special for our eight seniors. The flowers, the brochure, the audio recordings, the bell ringing, the decorated locker room, the photos, everything was perfect. I barely noticed the steady, cold deluge that began at JV kick-off and just got heavier throughout the evening. By "barely noticed" I mean that the damp wrinkles on my fingers had their own set of damp wrinkles. Most of us inside the bench shelter were shivering and numb, comfortably numb. However, our play had feeling. We had a turbo-charged energy that comes from doing things for the joy, respect, and benefit of others (and the chance to beat MI); unfortunately, our positive energy didn't immediately translate into goals. Yes, we had the majority of possession, territorial advantage, and lots and lots of shots, but we ran into an MI keeper who surely had one of her best nights of the season. By the end of the game, she had recorded 16 saves which is amazing (6-7 is a busy night, 16 is heroic). It took special finishes to beat a good keeper in good form, and we got some very special finishes. It began in the 12th minute from a corner, Maddy hit a perfectly driven ball that senior Lillian headed with power into the lower side of the net. Unsaveable. 1-0 Bellevue. After our opening goal, it felt as if the metaphorical floodgates would open, but instead, it felt like literal floodgates had opened. The rain just kept pouring. And although we created great chances, we couldn't find the two-goal margin we eagerly sought. So of course, we conceded. In the 32nd minute, the MI recorded their first shot as the ball ping-ponged around our box after a throw-in deep in our end, before an MI player poked it home from 2 yards. Ugh. To our credit, we never panicked despite a tied scoreboard that didn't reflect the balance of play. We were playing well, controlling the tempo, and creating chances, it just didn't come as easily as we hoped (see: MI Keeper #excellent). Finally, in the 38th minute, we regained the lead. Leah won the ball in the left channel and squared for Saleen who shoulder-dropped the first MI defender and glided past a second before stroking a confident shot past the keeper. Smooth. 2-1 Bellevue. Halftime. The second half was more of the same. One-way traffic. And rain, lots and lots of rain that made for slick soggy conditions. In the 49th minute, we added a third, although due to unfortunate circumstances, the MI defender accidentally hit the ball into her own net from a great cross from Mia on the left wing. We don't wish an OG on anyone, but it's part of the game so we'll accept the lucky break and be thankful for it. Then the long-awaited goal deluge began. Like against LW on Saturday, we had a devastatingly sharp 10 minutes: in the 56th Kaitlyn scored a wonderful laser header from a corner by Maddy; then in the 58th, Saleen was released down the right wing from Amy's midfield header off of an MI goal kick, and our freshman gave two MI defenders the twisties, before slotting home with style. And in the 64th, the bench cleared in boisterous joy as senior Camille took Nora's diagonal pass on the left wing, cut inside her defender and lashed a rocket into the upper right corner. Senior power. 6-1 Bellevue. Final score. Well done team. We have another Kingco regular season game on Thursday away to Liberty, but the district playoff positions are already fixed regardless of what happens against the Patriots. On Monday, Bellevue hosts LW for the Kingco championship with the winner going directly to state (first games Nov 10th/11th). 7pm kick-off. If we win that game, we will likely be able to host both the state sweet 16 and quarterfinal games at Bellevue Stadium which is a HUGE advantage (the top four ranked teams in the state tournament get to host games in a pod format). The rest of the Kingco tournament looks like this: MI @ Juanita on Saturday 10/28, loser out, winner plays @ Liberty on Monday evening. The MI/Juanita vs. Liberty winner advances to play the loser of the Kingco championship game on Wednesday, Nov 1st. Loser out. Winner advances to play a pigtail game against Metro League #4 finisher for a final chance at a state birth. Confused yet? Focus on this point: a win against the Kangs next Monday makes everything else irrelevant. Win and In. Let's do that. Finally, I'll end with the beginning: our seniors. There were tears and hugs all around. Our class of 2024 is special, not just for the historically great goal-scoring and win totals, but for how they treat each other and insist that BGS isn't just competitive, but built upon a non-negotiable foundation of fun and mutual respect. To Lillian, Alex, Amber, Gaby, Lily, Camille, Emilie and Lexi: thank you. I hope your memories of BGS are positive, full, and long lasting. And that the friendships forged on gamedays, training and team activities last even longer. As a team, we will pledge to give our best effort to extend this magical ride of a season as long as possible. If we win on Monday, we give the best possible gift to our seniors: another home game in the state tournament. Next stop: Liberty. Forecast: cold and dry. Bellevue 5-0 Mercer Island
13th min Mack 20th min Kasia (Mack) 46th Anna (Calla) 54th Morgan (Mack) 72nd Anna (Calla) As miserable as the weather was last night in our last JV home game of the year, we have to be pretty thankful for the weather we have had this season. We have been lucky to only have a couple of rainy games and practices. For the most part we have been blessed with sunshine instead of rain. But last night was not the case. A constant downpour made for some wet bodies and cold hands. It was difficult to get warm both on the field in the rain and under the shelter. But much to the girl’s credit, they didn’t let the poor conditions deter them from the task at hand: beating rival Mercer Island. It took a bit of time for both teams to adjust to the conditions and connect passes on a slick field. Mack broke through in the 13th minute when she took a bouncing ball after a throw-in and lofted a high-arching cross from deep on the right flank. The MI goalkeeper, battling the wind and rain, could only get a hand on the floating ball as it bounced around and barely crossed the goal line. Just seven minutes later Kasia took a pass from Mack deep into that same corner and did pretty much the exact same thing. Her cross was a little more direct but it also eluded the outstretched keeper and bounced off the back post and into the goal. We took our two-goal advantage into halftime and we huddled under the east end tree canopy for a quick talk out of the rain. We all decided we had plenty of time on the ball and we just needed to be a little more patient. The goals would arrive, we just needed to check to our ball handlers and connect. We tend to run away from our passers instead of making ourselves available to combine. The second half slowed down a bit for us as we moved the ball well and found our teammates all over the field. The rain was relentless but we did manage to score three very nice goals. It’s amazing what can happen when we connect our passes!! In the 45th minute a ball out of the back found Morgan at midfield who passed to Kasia down the right flank and she was off. She sped past two defenders, headed directly for goal and unselfishly crossed to a wide open Calla. Unfortunately Calla rushed her shot and blasted it over the top. It is a popular move on this team but I only mention it because Calla quickly redeemed herself. On the ensuing goal kick, Kasia sent Calla into the corner with a direct head ball. Calla trapped it nicely off her chest and sent a hard, one-touch cross all the way to the back post where a streaking Anna was waiting to slip it past the goalie. A great effort all around. Eight minutes later Mack emerged with the ball at midfield after a prolonged tussle with an MI player and after a nice cut back, found Morgan headed toward goal. Morgan twisted her defender in knots, twice, and poked home her sixth goal of the season. Anna capped the scoring on the night with a thumping header off a Calla corner kick as the game was nearing conclusion. Kudos for the header goal!!! On the night we held MI to just two shots on our goal (18 shots for us) and forced their keeper into eight saves. So in spite of the gloomy conditions our offense showed up in a big way. We’ll need that Thursday night as we travel to Liberty for our final JV game of the season. A win or a tie gives us the KingCo 3A crown so I hope everyone comes out to cheer us on. As our season ends, the varsity season continues as they clinched their league title and will move on to the playoffs. What that means for our team is that a few players will be called up to join varsity in their playoff push. Please take into mind Peter and I have had conversations all season long about which players are deserving. But those selections are based mainly on the players he thinks he will need positionally while rewarding players for a great season. ***After the close of our season on Thursday, as I always do, I will be offering any player interested a chance for some feedback on their season. This is a chance for me to offer evaluation on their year and to give them things to work on in the offseason in preparation for next season. For those juniors that plan to tryout next year, it will be a frank talk about areas for improvement and development in order to make the varsity roster. I will offer a chance to talk either Monday before the varsity game (7pm). I will be at the field about 6 pm. Or we can chat at varsity training on Tuesday. Just let our captains know if and when you would like to talk and they’ll let me know. See you Thursday. Go Wolverines!! Bellevue 7-0 LW
10th min Alex (Lillian) 35th min OG (Raina) 52nd min Mia (Leah) 61st min Saleen (Emily) 67th min Alex (Mia) 69th min Leah (Amy & Mia) 70th min Saleen (Amy) Sequels don't always live up to the originals. Jaws, Blues Brothers, The Sting, and Caddyshack were all fun original films (very subjective opinion, and yes, I'm dating myself), but does anyone remember "Jaws 2: The Revenge?" Or even worse films like Blues Brothers 2, The Sting 2, and Caddyshack 2...of course not, all were terrible and embarrassing cash grabs. What I wanted on Saturday night in our long-awaited home game against Kingco rival and #6-ranked LW was a sequel worthy of our 1-0 win in the away fixture two weeks ago. Our original was a gritty, effective, tight team win; but LW has been undefeated since that game stringing together great results against MI and Liberty earlier this week. An LW win would effectively secure the Kangs the #1 seed in the Kingco championships, so there was much to play for. I'm sure that LW was hoping to get a Jaws 2-quality Bellevue team in our return match; instead, they got a glorious blend of Godfather II, The Empire Strikes Back, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Our sequel was much much better than our original. We brought the "I'll be back," "I am your father," and "I know it was you Fredo." type of energy to our comprehensive 7-0 win on Saturday night (ask your parents...). The lead and supporting acting was superb with Oscar-worthy performances all over the field, the script was tight and well-rehearsed, the sound engineers were top-notch (thank you supporters, announcers, and especially the high school friends for the extra energy from the stands), and the cinematographer even surprised me by including an unexpected steady rain that gave the perfect NW mood as the setting. The game began with total commitment from both teams. The early pace was exactly what you'd expect from two good sides trying to win a league title, pressure and quick all over the field. Every loose ball was challenged and aerial duels were frequent as both teams searched for imbalances to exploit. And in the 10th minute, we found an opening. From an LW free kick at midfield, Maddy won a header (this is a frequent theme in our sequel, we were very good in the air), Alex pounced on the 2nd ball with a directional header of her own to Lillian at midfield, Lillian one-touched a pass back to Alex and our senior captain took a direct route straight to goal weaving through three LW defenders from center circle to goal before poking a shot past the keeper. 1-0 Bellevue. Magnificent. Bravo. Then in the 35th minute, we added another. Alex began the movement with an excellent entry pass to Raina who had made a very clever diagonal run towards goal from the right wing, one touch to settle and the next to blast a shot that seemed destined for the top corner, but the LW keeper made a nice diving save...but only as far as the trailing Kang defender who accidentally knocked the ball into the open net. Own goal. But kudos to Alex and Raina for the pass, great run, and shot, and to Amy who pressured the Kang defender with her aggressive supporting run and would've easily scored had her defender not done it for her. 2-0 Bellevue at halftime. Our halftime discussion was focused, joyful, and eager. LW had come from behind to defeat Liberty earlier this week, so we respected their resolve and pledged to bring the same energy for the second half. And we exceeded our expectations. We added our third in the 52nd minute, Leah won the ball at midfield and cut upfield on the dribble before making the most sublime, wonderous, and breath-taking entry pass to Mia who had made a diagonal run (another common theme from the night, our wingers' movement was superb) behind the LW backline, beat the keeper to the ball, touched it around her with speed and grace, then calmly slotted the biscuit in the basket. 3-0 Bellevue. In the next ten minutes, we added four more. Yes, four. In the 61st, Saleen took a simple ball from Emily at midfield, turned smoothly, and danced past two LW defenders before bouncing a shot past the keeper from 20yds. 4-0 Bellevue. A few minutes later we added our best team goal of the night, as we rotated the ball across the field with one and two-touches, Raina overlapped from right back (devastating) and crossed to Mia on the left wing. Mia spun her defender and cut-back for Alex to smash it past the keeper from 6 yards. It was a goal of selfless running, quick passing, confident crossing, and a tremendous finish. Nothing the keeper could do. 5-0 Bellevue. Two minutes later, Mia again got around the left side cutting back to Amy (another theme...our crosses were very good and frequent) who forced the LW keeper into a deflected save that Leah finished from 3 yards. Both Amy and Leah made perfect supporting runs for Mia's cross and were rewarded with an assist and goal respectively. 6-0 Bellevue. And a minute after that, in the 70th, Saleen finished the goal party with another magnificent team goal, as Leah found Amy's feet at striker, one-touch pass to an overlapping Saleen, and our exuberant freshman floated into the box before Neymar-ing a low hard shot past the LW keeper. 7-0 Bellevue. Final Score. And Scene. Five out of five stars. Standing ovation. Our program has enjoyed big wins before. But never in my tenure at Bellevue have we had such a comprehensive result against such a quality team. And make no mistake. LW is a very good team. That we'll likely see again. And as the old Australian adage goes, "beware the angry kangaroo." So we'll take our big LW win with equal parts confidence and humility, knowing that we'll likely have to face the angry kangaroo again. But overall, it was a special night. We should enjoy it. And yes, I made up that adage. The credits rolled and were shared by all, with taki taki proudly surrounded by our smiling team after the final whistle (ask your daughter). It was a massive team win, with excellent contributions from the entire squad. And the studio has already green-lighted a trilogy, with the final drama to likely take place a week from Monday (Godfather III? Return of the King? I hope so. But please, no Ewoks). However, before we secure the funding and buy the gown and tux for the premiere, we still need to take care of some very important business: senior night versus Mercer Island. With a win against the Islanders, our team will clinch the #1 seed in the Kingco league and will host the championship game on Monday, Oct 30th (tell your high school friends to clear their calendar). But more importantly, the motivation for our next match will be to honor our seniors. That will be enough. Tuesday will be the last regular season home game for an incredible group of players, so we won't allow ourselves a dip in form from Saturday to Tuesday. I expect our MI sequel to be award-season worthy because I can't imagine anyone in our team who wouldn't want to take the field against our traditional rivals with such a momentous double opportunity: honor our seniors and secure a birth in the Kingco championship game. Thanks to all for your support on a soggy Saturday night. It was absolutely box-office. Bellevue 0-1 LW
36th min LW goal (corner kick) “Set your goals high and don’t stop until you get there.” – Bo Jackson Even though many of our girls probably don’t know who Bo Jackson is, I really like this quote. (BTW – he was one the greatest athletes ever and he played both NFL football and Major League Baseball). Each season we have the same goals as the year before: win every game, win the league, play with joy and most importantly, have fun. I have seen the girls play with lots of joy this season and I hope they are having fun. With the amount of dancing and laughter I’ve seen, I think we are. And although our first goal of winning every game was dashed by 4A powerhouse Skyline last month, our biggest goal, winning the league title, is still within our grasp. Despite a hard-fought loss last night to our rival Lake Washington, if we take care of business and win our last two league games, the title is ours. Lake Washington has tied us in the standings but we have one more league game then they do so six more points gives us the league. So we still have lots of work to do. Last night, even with a great effort, we just couldn’t put the final touch on the ball to find a goal. That last pass, that last touch or last shot was just out of reach, wide or over the top. We just needed one moment of calm and focus but unfortunately, it never came. Once again the Kangaroos broke our hearts on a corner kick. With just four minutes until halftime a LW shot from distanced skipped off the slick turf and caught Sophia by surprise and bounced off her leg and out of bounds for a corner kick. The only LW corner of the night. Ugh. And just like in our last meeting, a great delivery from the corner eluded our heads and found a Kangroo player instead for the game winner. At halftime we talked about stepping up our work rate and continuing to fight in this brawl of a game. We knew we had the skill to create chances, we just needed to finish. Even though we outshot LW 18-9 and had more corner kicks (6-1), the saving goal just never came. So our season comes down to our last two games: Tuesday (MI) and Thursday (Liberty). We handled both teams in our first meeting but as we’ve seen this year, what happened the first time around just doesn’t matter. Please come out on Tuesday to root us on and stay and celebrate our varsity seniors on Senior Night. It should be fun. 10/18/2023 Varsity - Bellevue vs Hazen 10-17-2023Bellevue 3-0 Hazen
15th min Nora (Raina) 29th min Alex (unassisted) 79th min Lily (Maddy) corner Three points. Our hard-fought win against #3 Shorewood in our 2nd game of the season: three points. Our ferociously contested battle at LW a few weeks ago: three points. Our 9-0 finishing exhibition against both Mt. View and Interlake: both only three points. Our 3-0 win against Hazen at Renton Memorial Stadium on a rain-soaked October night: three points. It wasn't pretty. It was often frustrating. It was very physical. But the points count the same. Teams with championship ambitions are rarely able to maintain flowing beautiful soccer throughout an entire season. Some games are going to be a struggle. A bit rough around the edges. But most importantly, we got. the job. done. So we take the result humbly, knowing that we had to grind it out for long stretches, and to our girls' credit, they left Renton with what we came there to get: three points. The game might have been choppy, but the goals were quality. In the 15th minute, Raina received a switch pass from left to right, controlled the pass and squared to Nora from the wing, and Nora didn't hesitate, striking the ball first-time with a delicious curling shot that found the net from 18yards. 1-0 Bellevue (on our first shot on goal). Then in the 29th minute, Alex pressed high up the field, won the ball from an errant backpass, and raced to goal unopposed before firing a shot low and hard at goal...that missed? The ball traveled well beyond the goal to the fence behind, seemingly shot wide from our sideline viewpoint. The coaching staff looked at each other in disbelief wondering if Alex had missed her chance...and it took a meeting of the referees to confirm that Alex's shot had been so powerful it had broken the net...Of course, she scored. The net failed to stop her powerful finish. 2-0 Bellevue. Our final goal came in the last minute of the game, as Maddy crossed from a corner for Lily to volley home from close range. 3-0 final score. The stat line reveals a choppy midfield battle: 12/3 shots corners versus 4/0 for Hazen. It was our lowest shot production of the season, but well-done team defense, again, if we don't allow many shots, and secure a shutout, it's difficult to lose games. But the recap hardly captures the tense, physical, gritty, sloppy barroom-brawl of a game that our girls had to figure out. Late tackles, body-checks, high elbows, contested aerial duels, ankle-love-taps...it was a lot. But here's the twist: well done Hazen. I give full credit and respect to the players and coaching staff of Hazen for taking it to the #1 ranked team in the state in the most effective way they could: gritty determined competition. Hazen is now 0-8 in the Kingco standings. They could've simply gone through the motions in a game in which we were overwhelming favorites. But you never would've known it from the amount of fight in their team tonight. They competed from the opening whistle to the last. And yes, some tackles and off-the-ball antics were very frustrating, and in the grey-area of the rules ("how grey? charcoal"), but so what? That's the game, and we are likely to face other teams that will employ similar tactics. From Hazen's perspective, how do you slow down a team with a skill and pace superiority? You make the game a choppy physical slog. If the referee is going to allow it, then we have to figure it out and carry on. Complaining won't earn us anything. So full credit to Hazen players and coaching staff. They made a tactical choice, it worked, and they had us on the ropes all night and we didn't handle it well. They played the game by their rules, with their tempo, and we never really adjusted. In the end, the scoreline looks lopsided, but we all know that the game was anything but. If we want to achieve great things this season, we will be in more games that are played in the proverbial mud. It's a tactic. Lots of teams use it. And we need to know how to overcome it. Three points is how you handle it. Good teams find a way to get the result and then simply move on. No hard feelings. Break the bottom of the net. Shake hands after the game. Three points. And now we enter the final phase of our regular season. We have 3 games left against the top teams in our league. First and foremost, we play Kingco 2nd place and #6 ranked LW on Saturday at Bellevue Stadium at 7:30. If we win, we will have pole position to earn the right to host the Kingco League Championship game on October 30th. The winner of that game will go directly to state. We not only want to qualify for that game (#1 & #2 seeds in Kingco), but we want to host it. But the Kangs are equally eager, and will control their destiny in the race for the league title if they prevail. Let's not let that happen. So there's still lots to play for. Despite our excellent record so far and top ranking, the job is far from done. It will require a composed and determined performance on Saturday. Bring on the Kangs. Release the Wolverines. Bellevue 3-1 Hazen
4th min Morgan (Mack) 26th min Anna (Kasia) 38th min OG (Kasia) 75th min Hazen goal If you were to ask me immediately after Tuesday night’s win against Hazen how I felt about the game, you wouldn’t have liked my answer. I thought we played down to the level of our opponent, again, and didn’t look like the team I know were are capable. We easily handled Hazen the first time around 6-0 so we knew we had a slight talent advantage. But it was a sloppy affair and we struggled all night linking up our passes and truly looking dangerous in all areas of the field. Yes, it was a terrible evening weather-wise and the field was slow yet slick. (Is that possible?). Balls bounced off our feet and it was a rare occasion when one touch passes were involved. The two things you can truly control in soccer are effort and attitude. Our attitude was ok but our energy and effort were lacking. After Friday night’s shot-fest, we collectively decided we needed to work on our finishing with focus and commitment to keeping our heads down and putting the ball on frame. Monday’s practice was all about shooting: one-time shots, crosses, beating defenders. I thought, hoped, prayed our scoring woes were hopefully behind us. As I’ve been accustomed to say: Not so much. So while I was a little disappointed in our overall play, I have to repurpose my anger and admit the girls improved in one crucial area. Shots on goal. Friday night we saw 55 shots with 28 keeper saves and 5 goals. Last night we had 19 shots, 12 keeper saves and 3 goals. I’m a communications major so I don’t do math but somewhere in there is improvement. Our ratio of shots to those shots on goal were better. So that will be my take-away from this game. But if we are going to get past our next three rivalry game (LW, MI and Liberty), we will definitely have to be better. Last night Mack got us started in just the fourth minute with a banger of a shot right at the goalkeeper (not our last) that she was only able to bat down. Morgan was the beneficiary and blasted the rebound home. I thought that would open the flood gates but that was just the beginning of our struggles. Shot after shot was directly into the hands of the Hazen keeper, wide or over the crossbar. Ugh. We were creating chances (good) but couldn’t quite finish (bad). Anna tacked on one midway through the half after a prolonged battle in front of the goal which saw 4 or 5 failed shots and clearances. With frustration mounting and the first half nearing it’s conclusion, Kasia sent in a hard cross from the flank which bounced around between both teams and somehow ended up in the net. Faith Cody our scorekeeper, after consulting with several players, ruled it an own goal but we gave the assist to Kasia. So halftime saw us up 3-0. We knew, thought, the goals would come if we just got closer to playing Bellevue soccer. Again, the slick field made things difficult in the second half and we had plenty of chances (11 corner kicks). But nothing would drop. Unfortunately we gave up a sloppy goal toward the end of the game to lose the shutout. Sophia got her hand on a low, skipping shot but a Hazen forward sped past a few stagnant defenders and put home the rebound. 3-1 Bellevue. I know I should be happy with the 3 points, but I feel these are the types of games we should be able to put our stamp on, work on our overall possession game and feel good about the result. So yes, I’m proud of the girls for getting the win, I just think our best game is still out there. It’s my job to seek perfection but that is tough. It’s high school soccer after all. Let’s hope perfection happens Saturday night at home against LW. They have some payback coming. Hope to see you out there. Bring a friend, the rowdier, the better. 10/15/2023 Varsity - Bellevue vs Interlake 10-13-2023Bellevue 9-0 Interlake
10th min Camille (Raina) 19th min Nora (unassisted) 27th min Alex (Leah) 35th min Leah (Amber) 36th min Mia (Gaby) 37th min Alex (Leah) 51st min Saleen (Raina) 65th min Lily (Gaby) 69th min Gaby (Lexi) When we lived in the UK, one of my favorite British TV shows was Q.I. ("Quite Interesting"), a panel show that presents quirky interesting facts to a bunch of comedians who riff and react. Yeah, it's an acquired taste. One of the facts I recall was about unusual words in English that are their own antonyms (also called contronyms): a word that can be used for one meaning, and also the opposite meaning. For instance, the word "fast" can refer to the physical speed of our attacking players (Alex is fast), but can also mean stopping something from moving (to hold fast). Oddly, I thought of this during our game against Interlake as I asked the team to play quickly but with patience, or to simplify our passing so that we could execute more complicated combinations, and, I actually asked them to play hard but not go into any risky tackles (the very definition of a contradictory task). I often tell the team that I want greedy forwards willing to shoot on sight of goal, but then I plead for more disguised and unselfish passing in our attack when we force low-probability chances from long-range. I know, I know. It's a lot of cognitive dissonance. But coaches trade in mixed messages. Soccer, like life, can be complicated, and sometimes only opposites can capture what we are trying to achieve. On a rare Friday night game, and even rarer 6:30 kick-off, our girls got the message. When we play quickly (with patience), and simplify our passing (with complex off-the ball running), and are greedily generous in front of goal, our offensive firepower is the best I've had at Bellevue during my entire tenure. We are pretty good when we play as 11 individuals, but we are unstoppable when we play as a team. And on Friday, we were an unstoppable team. It was a 9-0 final score. But the score to me was irrelevant (we did our best to downshift in the 2nd half without disrespecting our opponents), it was the quality of our goals and build-up play that was so encouraging and beautiful. It started in the 10th minute with a triangle of passes between Amy, Nora and then back to Raina, who crossed intelligently on a diagonal to Camille at the back post to finish. 1-0 Bellevue. In the 19th minute, Raina provided a simple but effective square ball to Nora, who turned her defender and smashed a 25-yard shot to the far corner of the net. 2-0 Bellevue. Glorious goal. In the 27th min, Leah took an entry pass from Amber, headed it past the last defender, and raced towards goal before firing a shot that the keeper could only parry directly to Alex who tapped in from 6yards. 3-0 Bellevue. And we were flying. So much so that the next sequence of three goals was scored in less than a minute of actual playing time. In the 35th minute the barrage began. Leah took another great entry pass from Amber and fired a shot from 30 yards that beat the keeper for power and height. 4-0 Bellevue, And then, directly from the Interlake long kick-off, Gaby took the ball out of the air with a first-time pass to Mia who was 65 yards away from the Saints goal, deep in our half. Ten seconds later the ball was in the back of the net as Mia ran straight past 4 shocked Interlake defenders to score our fifth. 5-0 Bellevue. And less than 30 seconds after that, after we won the ball from another Interlake kick-off, we possessed the ball across our defense and midfield before Leah hit a wonderful diagonal entry pass (diagonal pass = straight run, or diagonal run = straight pass) and Alex ran past the Saints backline before scoring. Devastating. 6-0 when less than a minute earlier it had been 3-0. Merciful halftime. For the balance of the game we rotated roles, with defenders in attack (Amber at left wing, E Duke at striker!), and attacking players in defense (Lillan at CB!!) and worked on possession. The second half saw Saleen score in the 51st minute from Raina (3rd assist of the night!!!), Lily added another in the 65th minute from a nifty give-and-go with Gaby, before Lexi crossed from the right wing to Gaby on the left, and our senior center-back finished off the scoring with a very tidy goal. 9-0 final. Whew. Other than the overall quality of our passing and finishing, I was especially impressed with how we used Emilie at goalkeeper to relieve pressure and maintain possession with good back-passing, and I couldn't have been happier for goalkeeper Lexi to add an assist to her name on the scoresheet when she played at right wing. It was a comprehensive performance against a team that earned a point against Mercer Island just last week. But Interlake caught us on one of our best overall performances of the season; and it became more difficult for the Saints after one of their players suffered an injury during warm-ups. But again, we were excellent in all phases. Eight total goal-scorers and 11 players were on the scoresheet. When we play as a team, we are unstoppable. Opponents might neutralize one player, but if we are unselfish and making unselfish runs for the team, the other ten will make you pay dearly for it. Our next Kingco game is on Tuesday away at Hazen. 7:30 kick-off at Renton Memorial Stadium. I expect our offense to be fast, and our defense to hold fast. Bellevue 5-0 Interlake
32th min Mack (Elina) 38th min Mack 49th min Mack 56th min Elina (Anna) 62nd Anna (Elina) There is one statistic from our Friday night’s nonconference matchup with the Interlake Saints that sums up the entire game. 55 That number represents how many shots our JV girls had toward goal. I use the term ‘toward’ goal because many of our shots lacked a bit of precision to say the least. It was a difficult night to find the net. And that is putting it lightly. With that said, it was a comfortable win over the Saints. Going into the game we talked about using this contest to hone our passing skills and work on our possession. We knew the goals would come so we just wanted to play well, respect our opponents and have some fun. As the first half wore on and the shots piled up it became somewhat comical how many opportunities we created yet the goals were hard to find. We found new ways to miss the target. But full credit has to go to the Interlake keeper who, as they say in soccer, stood on her head. She wiped away shot after shot after shot. Right when we thought we had a break through, there she was to stonewall us. For the game she ended up with 28, saves. Yes, that number is correct. 28. In all my years in this game, I have never seen something like that. Kudos. We finally broke through in the 32nd minute as Mack decided she’d had enough. She took a niffy pass from our JVC guest player Elina and smashed home our first goal to break the seal. She added another one shortly after by dribbling through several defenders and blasting a 20-yard shot over the keeper. At halftime we talked/laugh about our lack of scoring and each girl offered their solutions. It was all the same advice: CONCENTRATE. Did we listen? Not so much. The second half started out much the same with missed opportunity after missed opportunity. As the game started to near it’s conclusion, Mack got her hat trick with more individual brilliance. Elina and Anna tacked on two more in the closing moments of the game to send us home with happy faces yet still scratching our heads about what we had just witnessed. High praise to our four JVC players who all contributed in the game. We appreciate their efforts to help us out on a night we were shorthanded. And also applause to Mack for a brilliant hat trick. We travel to Hazen on Tuesday and then have a rematch with Lake Washington next Saturday. Payback. Have a great weekend everyone. 10/15/2023 Varsity - Bellevue vs Juanita 10-10-2023Bellevue 4-1 Juanita
19th min Saleen (Amy) 51st min Lillian (Lily) 56th min Juanita FK goal 59th min Leah (Lillian & Raina) 80th min Mia (Amy) "If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain." Dolly Parton Well, we did the rain bit. in a game that unfortunately didn't feature any rainbows, our girls earned a soggy, slick, and soaked 4-1 victory against the Juanita Ravens. My messaging for this game began Monday during video-review of the Juanita team: do. not. take. Juanita. lightly. They are organized, tactically clever, have speed in key areas, and can hurt teams that don't remain focused. On gamenight, our warm-ups were good, the girls seemed energetic, and I was confident and optimistic that we were prepared for a solid performance. And then it started to rain. Hard. And the subsequent quality on the field was as flat as the Puget Sound on a windless day. Flat and quiet. Just raindrops and occasional whistles. Yes, the playing conditions weren't ideal. Controlling the ball on rainsoaked turf is a challenge, and it is much easier in theoretical terms standing on the sidelines in a rainrproof parka barking instructions (guilty). But it's October in the northwest, and we can't expect it to get much drier as our season progresses. So we'll learn to put on our galoshes and find a way. And on Tuesday evening against a determined Juanita team, we found a way. We got the opening goal in the 19th minute from a Juanita goal kick that was hit long, heavily deflected by a Juanita player backward towards her own goal where Amy flicked it forward and Saleen picked up the loose ball, spun, and nonchalantly deposited the ball into the far corner as if we were collecting balls in the net to prepare for the next shooting drill. Not exactly flowing build-up play, but ruthlessly effective, opportunistic, and a terrific finish by our freshman midfielder. 1-0 Bellevue. But the flatness continued. Flatter than Stanley being mailed to grandma by eager 2nd graders...Flatter than the tires of a bicycle ridden inside the glass factory after an earthquake...flatter than a souffle taken from the oven 5 minutes too early. It wasn't that we were playing particularly poorly given the conditions, or being outplayed by our hosts, it was that we were playing below our collective potential and abilities. Which tends to frustrate coaches .So we had our halftime chat, and gauntlets were thrown down. And to our team's credit, despite the weather getting worse and worse, we got better and better. Still not at our harmonizing best, but considering the waterlogged conditions, we began to sing from the same song sheet again. And in the 51st minute, we got the insurance goal that we sought, as Lily stepped forward to intercept a Juanita entry pass with a strong challenge to send the ball straight back through the Juanita defense, where the Raven CB hesitated a moment too long and Lillian pounced, finishing smartly with just the keeper to beat. 2-0 Bellevue. But 5 minutes later, Juanita earned a free kick 25 yards from our goal and the subsequent shot skipped off of the wet turf to nestle inside the far post. 2-1 Juanita, and suddenly the flat soggy quiet of the game was replaced by hopeful cheers of encouragement from the home supporters. Fortunately, before the pressure began to build on our team, Leah restored order in the 59th minute with an elegant goal after a great throw-in by Raina that was deftly flicked goalwards by Lillian to Leah's thankful feet in front of goal. Classy finish and 3-1 Bellevue. Then the rain really started coming down. Torrents. I expected to see families of ducks swimming in the center circle, or salmon fighting their way upstream from one penalty box to the other. But at this point in the contest, the spaces were bigger and the chances for us began to pile up. Posts and crossbars were hit. 1v1s with the Raven keeper were pushed narrowly wide, and corner kicks miraculously went untouched from near post to far post needing just a kneecap of contact anywhere along the journey. Then with virtually the last kick of the game, Amy relayed a clever entry pass to Mia who took a touch to settle before blasting the ball off the underside of the crossbar for our final tally of the night. 4-1 Bellevue. Final whistle almost immediately afterwards. The scoreline is both flattering and frustrating. Flattering in that it never seemed like a game worthy of a 3-goal final margin. Juanita battled consistently throughout and we struggled to find our rhythm. But also a bit frustrating in that we launched 26 shots towards the Raven goal to get our four...which isn't an aspirational finishing ratio. Yes, we are creating a lot of shots on goal, but the overall quality of our shots isn't great. Our decision making around goal could be better. I'd prefer more patience and poise, with demanding runs inside the box rewarded with a final killer pass rather than some of the speculative or low-percentage attempts we are currently settling for..but...that's nitpicking. It reminds me of the quote from the tough and thoughtful ex-Man City captain and center-back Vincent Kompany, current manager of Burney in the Premier League, about his attitude towards his craft, "Always happy, never satisfied." I'll take that advice. I'm happy with the result. (but we can play better than that). We'll search for more rainbows on Friday night as we welcome Interlake to Bellevue Stadium for a non-league game (why is Interlake not in Kingco this season? long story, but the short versions is that they chose to play an independent schedule this year and aren't included in Kingco league standings). A special thank you to the parents and supporters who braved the weather at Juanita, and especially to the volunteer crew who helped set up our bench shelter before the JV game, and tear down after the varsity. Little details (like staying warm and dry on the bench), make a big difference. Thank you. Also a tip of the cap to the Juanita program overall. They always are one of the best hosts in Kingco, treating opponents with respect from arrival to departure. This can be seen in small considerations like providing the away team with a tent shelter and water, and their announcer working hard to pronounce all of our players names correctly. And I loved their pink socks and face-paint ribbons for breast-cancer awareness month reminding us all that there are more important things in the world than high school sports. They are a class program and we wish them well for the rest of the season. Bellevue 1-0 LW
65th min Alex (Leah) Former England and current Crystal Palace Manager Roy Hodgson once said, "Football isn't a beauty contest, it's about being good enough." On Thursday evening against Kingco rival Lake Washington, we were good enough. As a program, we absolutely are committed to playing a beautiful, flowing, and joyful style of soccer, but we are also pragmatists. And over the course of an entire season, there will be variables that we can't control (weather, quality of the pitch, our opponents relative quality or style, etc.) that will necessitate a more practical tactical adjustment to get a result. For me, style should be directionally correct, not dogma. And so it was last night against LW, there were times during the game when beauty wasn't going to win the day, but gritty, tough and organized teamwork were going to be cornerstone upon which our more creative play would be built. We might not play a team that plays a more direct style than LW all season. And this direct style requires our backline to be very connected, good in the air, and focused on denying entry passes, while our midfielders need to be very aware of off-the-ball runs and deflections from the initial long-ball. And collectively, we were excellent at winning our aerial duels, tackles and denying easy switches. And once we got that part of our game right, we were able to counter-attack through our midfield and around the wide areas. After a teeter-totter first half, the winning margin came in the 68th minute, as Leah worked hard to win the ball in midfield and sent a curling pass down the left sideline towards Alex at striker. The LW defender had a good angle to win the ball, but Alex closed the gap, timed her tackle perfectly, won the ball and raced towards goal unopposed. The finish was outstanding, smashing the ball into the upper right corner of the net and leaving the LW keeper no chance. 1-0 Bellevue. Final score. Overall, the game was as close to playoff intensity as we are likely to have during our regular season. We even had the same referee who was assigned the 3A final last season which just added to the playoff-like atmosphere. Entering the game, Bellevue was ranked #1 in RPI, and LW #4. And although RPI isn't really a trustworthy ranking of overall quality, in this instance, it did a good job of summarizing the situation: two of the very best 3A teams battling for positioning as we enter the pointy end of our season. Although the game statistics would indicate that we earned our win by creating more opportunities (17/2 shots/corners vs. 4/1 for LW), the game never felt like a mismatch or lopsided in any way (many of our shots were speculative efforts from 30+ yards away). Every second required total focus and the game could've tipped in either direction for most of the night. But we did create more chances. And we were more dangerous going forward, especially when we were patient in attack, linking passes and running off-the-ball in support of our teammates. But LW is ever-dangerous, poised to pounce on mistakes, deflections, or opportunistic rebounds. They are never to be underestimated. Finally, as I told the girls during post-game (and to fully blender mix my metaphors), last night was likely the first act in a three act play. We have been introduced to all of the main characters and established setting and plotlines. We know that the inherent drama at the heart of the play will need to be resolved by the final curtain, but the outcome is still a beautiful mystery. Act 2 will be in just over two weeks time (and I expect new main characters to make surprise appearances), ane we should expect a few plot twists, but I'm hopeful our Wolverine heroines continue the story arc to happy sappy conclusion, with a standing ovation from a supportive crowd at the end. Until then, we won't take a bow yet, the outcome after Act 1 doesn't determine whether the play is successful. There's more to be done, and the director has plenty of notes. Enjoy Homecoming weekend. No training today. Rest and recover. See you all on Monday as we prepare for another road trip, this time to Juanita as we enter the back-half of our Kingco season. Excellence is always good enough. Bellevue 3-3 Lake Washington
6th min Mack (free kick) 13th min Anna (Kasia) 15th min LW goal 20th min Kasia (Ari) 38th min LW goal 80th min LW goal FTJ ….(Finish The Job) It is a mantra we use often in the Bellevue girl’s soccer program in an effort to get our teams to fight until the final whistle, protect/add to a lead and see the game out. Unfortunately on Thursday night at Lake Washington High School, with homecoming on our minds, our JV girls couldn’t quite FTJ. We surrendered a corner kick goal to LW at the death and let them escape with a tie. A frustrating outcome but something I hope we can learn from. The game started out just as we planned with crisp passing, lots of communication and some great goals. Mack got us started in just the 6th minute with a sizzling free kick that slipped by numerous defenders and found the back of the net. Any low, hard shot on frame always causes havoc and more often then not, good things happen. Kasia did her thing just a few minutes later as she maneuvered around her defender to rifle a shot the goal keeper could only deflect away. Anna, as she is accustomed to do, pounced on the loose ball and put it in the net. Just 15 minutes into the game we were up 2-0 and looked to be cruising. But Lake Washington had other ideas and capitalized on some defensive miscommunication that left a Kangaroo forward wide open in the penalty area for an easy goal. Our defense has been solid thus far this season so we chalked it up to a minor lapse and we moved on. Kasia padded our lead midway through the first half with another great individual effort. Again, she spun her defender in circles and raced toward goal. A clinical finish put us up 3-1 and we felt we were back on track. Not so much. Minutes before the halftime whistle our backline got a little out of shape and a LW crossed skipped past us and found a player in front of the net who side-footed a tough shot in the corner of the net and we found ourselves clinging to a 3-2 lead at halftime. We talked at halftime about cleaning up our miscues, continuing to work hard and add to our lead. Giving up two goals is not what we are accustomed to and I wanted the girls to realize mistakes happen but they can’t be repeated. The second half was back and forth but I felt we had the upper hand. LW did a good job adjusting to shut down Kasia on the wing and she had trouble getting free for some of her patented flank runs. Our effort was there but we just couldn’t find that last pass or takeaway. As we neared the end of the game, as usual, things got frantic. We tried to see the game out and LW was in press-mode and was sending long ball after long ball into our end for our backline to clear. With minutes to go a series of unfortunate events led to a late LW goal. A failed goal kick clearance, a questionable foul all led to not one but two corner kicks. A little ball-watching saw a Kangaroo player get to the back post and out jump our team for the game-tying goal. Ugh. With better late-game decisions, supreme focus and relentless effort, I believe we could have walked away with a victory. But on this night, it just wasn’t meant to be. Unfortunate yes, but hopefully we can take this, learn from it and move on. We have now seen all of our league opponents and I feel we definitely have the best team this year. It will take total effort from everyone on the roster to win the league again. But I am confident if we play Bellevue soccer, no one can beat us. Have fun during homecoming weekend and be safe. See you next week for Juanita on Tuesday and Friday night for Interlake (nonconference). 10/4/2023 Varsity - Bellevue vs Liberty 10-3-2023Bellevue 1-1 (2OT) Liberty
31st min Liberty goal 39th min Alex (Mia) So we tied a Kingco soccer game. It happens. At least in theory, I understand it happens. Our last regular season Kingco tie was during the 2019 season over four years ago. Most of the girls in our program were at Chinook MS, and some were still attending their local elementary school. So there's that. But ties do happen in soccer, and now we have another new experience to process and learn from: overtime. Each league in the state handles regular season ties differently. Some simply end in a tie after 80 minutes, others go directly to s shootout, and Kingco plays two 5-minute overtime periods using the golden goal rule (whoever scores first wins), but if it still ends tied after those overtime periods, the teams share a point apiece for a tie (versus 3pts for a win). The reaction to the final whistle tells you everything you need to know about the result. Liberty players skipped back to their shelter and shared hugs, while our girls all stared into the distance with frustration, ennui, and disbelief looking like existential poets contemplating the void of the universe (I may have even heard the gnashing of teeth). Or maybe we were just tired and hungry after a tough match. I sometimes take these things too seriously. We knew going into our game with Liberty that it would be a challenging test. Liberty are well-coached and play an attractive brand of possession soccer, spreading the field as wide as possible creating gaps for their speedy wingers and midfielders to race onto and cause overloads. But we knew that. And we prepared for that. And to our credit, defensively, we stayed organized and compact and repelled most forays into our territory. In fact, we limited the Liberty offense to 3 shots all night, unfortunately, their first shot was a goal, and their last shot was a 1v1 with our keeper who charged off her line, narrowed the angle, and did a great job preventing what would've been a more depressing result than merely a tie (well done Emilie). So why did we tie when we were so defensively solid most of the night (3 shots aren't very many)? First and foremost, Liberty is a good team. But beyond that, our issue on Tuesday night was a fluidity to our offense (or lack thereof), and our finishing ratio (goals scored as the numerator, chances created as the denominator). And that calculation currently produces a very small faction. We launched over 20 shots at the Liberty goal (our season average) and came away with a single goal. Yes, their goalkeeper had a good night, but we are talented enough that beating a solid goalkeeper is within our ability. But last night it just seemed a bit janky...we forced shots when a simple pass to a teammate would be a better choice and passed to marked teammates when we had open shots. The art of disguise in scoring goals is something we need to improve upon: making opponents think we are going to shoot before laying off a perfect set-up pass, or feinting a pass before catching the goalie flat-footed with a snap shot on goal. Liberty scored first in the 31st minute, with a hopeful looping shot-cross that seemed like one of those agonizing floaters that would nestle just between the crossbar and the outstretched gloves of the keeper....but Becca did keep it out...but only as far as the onrushing striker who was alert and pounced on the rebound to put us behind for only the second time this season. As halftime neared, it seemed like we'd go into the break chasing the game a goal down, but then we had a moment of pure soccer beauty. It came in the 39th minute from a delicious one-touch pass from Lillian to Mia scampering down the left wing. Mia took a single touch to control, and another to cross perfectly to the head of an onrushing Alex to bury into the corner of the net. It was a wonderful goal. A goal of speed, control, and simplicity. But sadly the fluidity of that goal was a singular experience that didn't repeat. The second half, and two 5-minute overtimes, were decidedly in our favor (other than the late 1v1 that we miraculously dodged) but we couldn't find the final bit of quality to finish off any of our numerous chances created. 1-1 final score. The result is disappointing, but it really doesn't change much regarding our goals and ambitions for this season. Because Liberty had already dropped points to #4 ranked LW 2-1 last week, we still control our destiny in the Kingco regular season. We simply have to play better and get results against LW, Liberty, and the rest of our league opponents in future games. And our first opportunity to do this will be Thursday at Lake Washington. LW finished 2nd in Kingco the last two seasons (behind Bellevue), and are eager to claim a title of their own. But to earn the league crown, teams still have to displace the two-time defending champion and that's our team. Past games with LW have been tremendously competitive and are usually played with a frenetic energy for the entire 80 minutes. We need to bring our "A" game on Thursday. So we'll rest and recover from Liberty, take lessons where we can, and carry on to face LW on their home field on Thursday night. I know our girls will be ready to work on their soccer mathematics and improve our ratios in the best possible way: by scoring a bucket-load of goals. Bellevue 2-0 Liberty
23rd min Anna (Calla) 74th min Calla (Kasia, Riley) Soccer is a funny game. Every single game is completely different from the next. Yes, we try and play a similar style each game; possession, fast, clinical. But opponents, weather, moods, etc dictate a lot and with high school girls, you never quite know what you are going to get from game to game. It’s the nature of the game and one of the things I like most about coaching. On Saturday versus Mercer Island we played some compelling soccer and played the way we strive to attain up and down this program. Well, in comes league-leading Liberty Tuesday night and it was a totally different game from the weekend. We started the game very flustered and frantic as Liberty, as they always do, pressed hard, attacked the ball and connected passes up and down the field. They dominated possession and we were left to chase the ball. Wait, what? Isn’t that how we want to play? It was like watching one of our games only we were on the wrong end. It took us a good 20 minutes before we finally settled in and got ahold of the ball. Liberty likes to knock the ball around the back and then launch a long ball they can play off and attack. Once we figured it out, we were in good shape. Our defense snuffed out numerous counterattacks before they got dangerous and our front line started pressing their centerbacks before they could send a ball up field. It was on one of those pressures that led to our first goal. Kasia and Calla pressured the Patriots left back and forced her to cough up the ball. Calla pounced on the loose ball, took a touch and sent a hard cross that skipped past a defender and landed at Anna’s feet. From there, our leading goal scorer, settled the ball nicely and powered a shot past the world’s tallest goalkeeper. Ok, a slight exaggeration but she is really tall and made some very nice saves on the day. The goal seemed to relieve a little pressure for us and we saw more possession and made our way to halftime. At the break we talked mainly about increasing our effort, keeping our composure and knocking the ball around. The second half was slightly better but still a little sloppy for my taste. Lots of bouncing passes, loose ball handling and a little too much dribbling. Pass and move, pass and move. Liberty was never really dangerous in our end on the night but for some reason the game did not feel secure with just a 1-0 score line. In a tight game like this, despite us having the upper hand, one mistake, one miscue could lead to the tying goal. So we, probably more me, were a little nervous and we unfortunately turned to kick-ball to relieve pressure. Never a good philosophy when trying to finish out a game. But much to our relief, a long ball out of the back from Riley skipped past Kasia’s defender and sent her running toward goal. She deftly took the ball to the end line and expertly cut a hard, low cross to the middle where Calla was waiting for a one-touch finish to secure the match. Whew. If you look at the stats, we were dominate but for some reason it just didn’t feel that way. We outshot Liberty 15/1 and allowed just two corner kicks. We had a season-high 27 blocks. It is a new stat we’ve been keeping which helps us track who is working hard on defense and preventing passes and shots. Tonight, Riley led the team with 9 blocks. Nice effort. We travel to rival Lake Washington on Thursday which promises to be another compelling league match. Who knows what we’ll get. Be there. Bellevue 2-0 Mercer Island
12th min Raina (Lillian) 67th min Alex (Gaby) So I was up at 4am this morning to watch the final day of the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup is a team golf competition between the USA and Europe that has been contested for decades and is soaked in tradition and emotion. It's a rare competition for the best professional golfers in the world that doesn't have a purse. Millions of dollars aren't awarded to the winners (at least not directly), just the glory of representing your country and your team. And in my opinion, it's the team rivalry of the Ryder Cup that makes it the most compelling event in golf (with apologies to the majors). The crowds are fiercely partisan and vocal, heckling and singing chants from the first tee to the last. The emotions run so so so high that even caddies start to point fingers and banter with opponents and fans. In every iteration, the Ryder Cup has moments of breath-takingly clutch performances and execution followed by fist-pumps and celebrations that are rarely seen at typically staid golf tournaments. And at the end of every match, after enduring the heckling, jeering, and pressure-cooker moments, both competitors honorably shake hands regardless of victory or defeat. And so we played Mercer Island yesterday. Comparing the intense rivalry of the Ryder Cup to our game against Mercer Island is probably a bit hyperbolic (just a bit...), but the emotions and anticipation can feel just as intense. For our seniors, it was likely our last visit to "The Jungle" as MI has oddly branded their home turf. (Jungle? On a suburban island?) And other than playoff soccer, it is usually our most intense experience of the season. When we did our goal-setting in pre-season, the most common goal written by our players (other than defending our state title) was beating MI. Therefore, regardless of records going into each MI game, the rivalry is always fiercely contested. And so it was yesterday from the opening whistle, with flying tackles, tough challenges, and frenetic energy setting the tone for the first ten minutes. Eventually, we settled down and began to play the type of soccer that was necessary against a high-pressing team like MI: patient passing, quick switching of play, selfless running, and team-first balance and organization. We were rewarded in the 12th minute with a goal of the highest quality and simplicity. From deep in MI territory, Alex took a throw-in to Lillian's feet, Lillian controlled the ball with her first touch, spun, and made a quick low pass behind the MI backline to Raina on the opposite wing with nobody but the keeper to beat. Raina took a composed first touch as the keeper charged, and calmly passed the ball into the net with her second touch to give us the lead. Wonderful goal. 1-0 Bellevue. For the rest of the first half, we continued to control possession and created several excellent chances including a snap-shot by Kaitlyn that looked destined for the upper corner if not for an exceptional diving save by the MI keeper who had a great game. Halftime 1-0 Bellevue. The second half had the same feel as the first: fiercely competitive, but with most of the play being contested in the MI half of the field. We finally got the insurance goal we wanted in the 67th minute, as Gaby sent a curling free kick behind the MI backline for Alex to poke home. 2-0 Bellevue. Final score. I'm proud of how we handled the game. MI rivalries always have the potential to get overly physical and emotional, and I thought we did a good job of keeping our heads and sticking with our game plan. Yes, we'd prefer to finish more of the numerous chances we are creating...but we are creating A LOT of chances in each game we play. I'm confident our finishing ratio will get better. But we aren't allowing a lot of chances either. MI managed one shot on Saturday and the final stats were in our favor, Bellevue 22/5 shots/corners to 1/0 for the Islanders. Shutouts are a result of an entire team being committed to preventing opportunities for the other team, and in 8 games so far this season, we have 5 shutouts. That's a ratio I hope to keep during the back half of our season. We have two more games left in the first half of our Kingco regular season, and they happen to be the top two challengers to the league title and among the RPI top-rated 3A programs in state: #12 Liberty and #6 Lake Washington (we are currently ranked #1). Liberty on Tuesday at home, and then we go to LW on Thursday. Both teams have had very impressive starts to their seasons and I expect these games to be of the highest quality. At the end of the Ryder Cup this morning (afternoon in Italy), the Europeans emerged victorious after a late charge by the USA wasn't quite enough. The European team is now undefeated on their home turf for over 30 years. It reminded me that Bellevue girls soccer hasn't suffered a defeat on home turf for several years either. It's a record we hope to extend on Tuesday. Bellevue 6-0 Mercer Island
3rd min Kasia (Mac) 7th min Mac (Kasia) 14th min Anna 19th min Anna (Kasia) 22nd min Kasia 45th min Anna (Alyson) No matter what level of soccer you watch/coach/play, one person scoring three goals in a game is one of the hardest feats in sports. It takes skill, effort and a little bit of luck to get a ‘hat trick’ as it is called in soccer. On a chilly Saturday morning in the Mercer Island High School stadium, Anna Cody put her name on that distinguished list in a thorough 6-0 trouncing of the Islanders JV squad. To be completely honest, I didn’t know Anna scored three goals until I looked at the score sheet this morning as I started to write this recap. We all should have celebrated her accomplishment after the game and I will take full blame. Her three tallies got lost in what I felt was some of the best soccer our team has played this season. The first half of Saturday’s game was filled with effort, crisp passing and team defense. The goals came quickly in the first half and it seemed to settle us down. After last Saturday’s game, which was a bit lethargic for my liking, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get from the team with the cold conditions and early-morning start time. But right from the opening whistle the girls came out flying. All the things we have been working on in practice (quick ball movement, moving off the ball, clinical finishing) were evident on the pitch. Kasia scored a great goal in just the third minute with a looping shot over the goaltender’s outstretched arms after a nice give-and-go with Mac in the right corner. Minutes later, Kasia returned the favor and set an excellent cross to Mac who expertly volleyed into the net. Two quick goals in the first ten minutes was just the start we were looking for. From there, we were off. Anna got her first goal by being in the right place as the keeper fumbled a shot from Kasia right to her feet. She pounced and put the ball in the roof of the goal. Her second goal was a thing of beauty. Off a great corner kick from Kasia, Anna dashed into the penalty area and smashed home a header to put us up 5-0. As stated, I love header goals. We got one more goal before half on a great individual effort from Kasia who made a 40-yard run around three defenders and finished was a great low, hard shot that found the far corner. A shout out to Kasia who has played some of our best soccer this first half of the season and Saturday was a great example. We had her for only one half as she deservedly earned a Varsity call up on Saturday and all she did was score two goals and assist on two others. Wow. The second half saw most players trying out new positions and working on our possession and team work in an effort to see this game out. We added one final goal off a corner kick just five minutes into the second half. Guess who? Yep, Anna was there to poke in a lose ball in front of the goal to cap our scoring on this day. It was a great overall effort and all our hard work seems to be showing up on the field. This next week will be a great test as we host Liberty on Tuesday and travel to Lake Washington on Thursday. Both teams are off to great starts this season. Add that to the inevitable distractions associated with Homecoming Week, it will take great focus and effort to get our six points. Bellevue 4-0 Bainbridge
27th min Kaitlyn (Nora) 32nd min Kendall PK 39th min Camille (Raina) 74th min Amy (Nora) One of our more memorable non-conference games last year was our trip to Bainbridge Island. We had perfect sunny weather as we took the ferry across the Sound and played a very competitive set of games against our hosts before making the happy return voyage home on a clear night with the Seattle skyline as a welcoming backdrop. The return leg of our Bainbridge non-league agreement had an equally northwest flavor, but instead of ferry rides and beautiful nighttime skylines, we got chilly temperatures and intermittent rain. We are thankful for our parkas, even in September. Playing well in soggy conditions is going to be very important as our season progresses, so it was great to see our team play one of our most complete games of the season. We were sharp. Our passing was crisp and patient. Our team defense and overall work-rate was committed and contagious. And even after we created several fantastic chances that didn't convert (hit posts, good saves, narrow misses) we didn't panic and get impatient but continued to move the ball quickly with one and two-touch passing and good movement off the ball. And we got our reward for our good play in the 27th minute. Lily took a throw-in deep in Bainbridge territory to Nora, who turned and squared a pass to Kaitlyn near the top of the box. Kaitlyn dinked a little half-volley floater that arced just beyond the outstretched hands of the keeper to nestle in the back of the net just below the crossbar. Lovely. 1-0 Bellevue. A few minutes later in the 32nd minute, Mia crossed to Amy in the box from the left wing and Amy's shot hit a defender's outstretched arm. Handball. Kenny buried the resulting PK into the side-netting with poise and composure. 2-0 Bellevue. Then a minute before halftime, Lillian released Raina down the right wing and Raina provided a perfect cross, low and hard on the turf just in front of the Bainbridge keeper where Camille charged in to finish at the back post from 3 yards out. 3-0 Bellevue. I hope everyone is noticing a trend in our goalscoring...good things happen when we get the ball to our speedy wingers and they execute composed crosses, especially when we have lots of players crashing the box, eager to score, and making intelligent, well-timed runs. Being in the right place at the right time in front of goal takes work, timing, and an anticipation of where the ball is going to be, not where it is. The entire second half was composed and measured as we rotated our lineup and worked on managing the game to completion. We created lots of good chances, but it wasn't until the 74th minute that we added a fourth, an excellent team goal that started with Emily's wonderful upfield pass to Amy's feet at striker, Amy made a simple pass underneath to Nora who then released Kasia down the right wing. Our visiting freshmen raced past her defender, spun, and dropped the ball back to Nora who had continued to trail the play. Nora's first-time cross found Amy who finished smoothly to the keeper's left. It was a goal of speed, simplicity, unselfishness, and good finishing. Bellevue 4-0. Final score. Overall, shots/corners were decidedly in our favor 18/5 Bellevue vs. 3/0 for Bainbridge. One of the many things I love about our team is our balanced approach to scoring. We have scored 25 goals in our first seven games with 12 different goalscorers. Seventeen players (yes, 17!) have recorded either a goal or an assist this season. That is remarkable. And so so so difficult to play against. On the other side of the field, our team D remains stingy, with only four goals conceded in those seven games with 4 shutouts. Our team is creating 19 shots per game, and allowing less than 3. That is a trend I hope to continue for the rest of the year. We now move into the business end of our league schedule beginning next Saturday against rival Mercer Island. Since we don't play for another week, we have given the JV and Varsity teams Monday & Tuesday off from training. Rest. Take care of knocks and strains. We'll resume on Wednesday as we begin preparations for MI. Bellevue 2-1 Bainbridge
52nd min Morgan 68th min Bainbridge from corner kick 78th min Anna (Calla) 8-0, 8-0, 5-0, 3-0, 8-0, 10-0, 8-0. Those are the scores of the 7 games the Bainbridge Island High School girls JV soccer team have played this season headed into our Saturday clash. Wow. Impressive goal scoring. No matter the competition. So we knew we were going to have a tough battle against the Spartans. It was an unusual game for us and speaking with Coach Peter, we couldn’t quite put our finger on it. The team was sluggish, apathic and a little disinterested. It was a bit baffling. Did I not get invited to the big Friday night party? Aside from a couple of girls, overall the team looked tired. We were not our normal selves, challenging every ball, tackling hard and pressing with effort. This led to balls bouncing off our feet when a simple trap and pass would have worked. We had trouble connecting passes in crucial spots and we didn’t really threaten the Spartan’s goal in the first half. We talked at halftime about putting out a little more effort and being patient in our attack. Our defense was handling the one-dimensional Bainbridge attack: kick and run. So we felt good about shutting them down, we just needed to ramp up our attack. Unfortunately, it was more of the same in the second half but Morgan came to our rescue in the 52nd minute and slipped a bouncing shot off the wet turf and under the diving goalkeeper. Whew. The goal relieved some the pressure and we started to connect a few more passes as we tried to get to the finish line. As stated, Bainbridge was a well-coached, organized team so it was no surprise a well-executed short corner kick resulted in a rocket shot that Sophia had no chance to stop with tons of traffic (maybe a push?) in front of her. And just like that we found ourselves tied with just about 10 minutes to go in a game we felt we should be winning. I asked the girls to dig deep for the final minutes to go and find a game winner. Enter Calla. With just minutes to go in the game, she took a throw-in from Mac, flicked it up and over her head – backwards – over the goalkeeper were Anna was waiting to head it in the net. Boom! Game over. Boy, do I love header goals and a game-winner too. A win is a win. Not our best effort but it was a Saturday after all. Hopefully we won’t have those same issues next Saturday when we travel to Mercer Island for our next game. We’ll take Monday and Tuesday off to give the girls a rest before we get back into action next weekend. Have a great week. 9/25/2023 Varsity - Bellevue vs Hazen 9-21-2023Bellevue 5-1 Hazen
3rd min Amy (Mia) 20th min Saleen (Kaitlyn) 37th min Alex (Maddy) corner 43rd min Gaby PK 77th min Lillian (Mia) 78th min Hazen goal Winning can be a habit. And the opposite is true too. So I was particularly interested in how our team would rebound from our game against Skyline. And it took less than three minutes into our game against Hazen for us to bounce in the right direction. We spoke a lot this week about simplifying our possession game, playing quickly to rotate the ball into less congested spaces where we have speed advantages. And so I loved our first goal. Nora won the ball deep in our end, turned, and played a simple two-touch ball to Saleen's feet as she moved upfield. Then Saleen made a first-time pass to MIa's feet on the wing and we were flying forward. Mia beat her defender on the dribble and fired a shot that the Hazen keeper could only parry, and Amy was in the perfect place at the perfect time to finish into the open net. So simple. So quick. The ball shifted from side to side with precision and pace, a calm finish, and we were leading 1-0. In the 20th minute, we scored another great team goal. Mia won the ball deep in the Hazen and dropped a pass underneath to Saleen who patiently rotated the ball back to Gaby, across to Kaitlyn, and back to Saleen in midfield. A simple triangle. And due to our good balance, patience, and spacing, the Hazen backline was spread wider than they might've wanted, and Saleen charged into the gap and finished to the lower right side of the goal. 2-0 Bellevue. Our third goal came from a corner kick that coach Payton had designed and installed earlier in the week. We got the coverage we wanted from the Hazen defense, Maddy signaled to Alex, and seconds later the Hazen goalkeeper was picking the ball from the back of the net after a super-smash. 3-0 Bellevue at halftime. Our fourth came just minutes into the second half from some great individual play from Lillian, Our striker twisted her defender into knots on the right wing allowing her to get goal-side inside the penalty box and running directly at the keeper, which is a terrible position to be in as a defender...so it wasn't a surprise to see a desperate attempt to tackle which resulted in our first PK of the season. Gaby stepped up and dispatched a perfect PK. 4-0 Bellevue. We used the rest of the game to work on our formational flexibility, shifting into an alternate shape that should help us in future games. To Hazen's credit, they never ever gave up. They continued to battle and challenge for every loose ball, and although we maintained the majority of the possession, we were forced to work hard for it. Hazen will surprise Kingco opponents this year if they keep up that tenacity and determination. Our final goal came from a delightful cross from Mia on the left wing, perfectly weighted to a charging Lillian who volleyed cleanly on goal, the Hazen keeper reflex-blocked, but the rebound spilled just on the goal line where Lillian nicked ahead of Raina to finish. 5-0 Bellevue. A minute later we conceded. Sigh. It was the second shot we had allowed in the game which gives the Highlanders a very attractive conversion rate. And a good lesson for us on keeping our concentration all the way to the final whistle. Not surprisingly, the overall statistics were heavily in our favor: 20/4 to 2/1 shots/corners. I like our chances if we continue to create good goal-scoring chances while limiting our opponents' opportunities. it's a good formula that I hope we continue. Tomorrow we have our third game of the week against non-conference Bainbridge, current leaders in the Olympic League. It will be Bainbridge's third game too, so both teams will need to persevere past weary legs. A year ago, we made the ferry trip and played a very tight and competitive game that we narrowly won 1-0. So I expect another good test for our team. After Bainbridge, we have a full week before we resume Kingco league play with a trip to another, more local, island. But we'll focus on one island-based team at a time, and at the moment, we are looking forward to welcoming our visitors from Bainbridge. Winning can be a habit. Here's to building healthy habits. Bellevue (JV) 5-0 Hazen
7th min Mac 9th Kasia (Tara) 13th Morgan (Kasia) 50th Mac (Morgan) 57th Anna (Morgan) Back to our winning ways. After a tough loss on Tuesday vs Skyline, the JV girls were back in action Thursday hosting Hazen High School. They only thing I wanted the team to remember from the Skyline game was the crappy feeling they had walking off the pitch. It was a game we should have won, or at least tied. But luckily the feelings after a loss don’t happen a lot in this program. We are fortunate. We have a strong program. But that loss is in the past. With Tuesday behind us, we focused our hurt and anger on Hazen. The game started a little sloppy as we got used to some players in new positions as we once again had to deal with injuries, sickness and absences. But Mackenzie came to our rescue and righted the ship. In the 7th minute she intercepted a poor Hazen goal kick, dribbled around a couple of flailing defenders and ripped a beautiful shot from about 20 yards out. Nothing but net. The goal seemed to calm us down a bit and we started to connect passes and find teammates. Kasai took a great pass from Tara and used her speed to slot home our second goal of the game. Shortly after, in what Coach Peter described as ‘one of the best goals in recent program history’, we put this game away. Kasia, again, drove hard down the right flank, beat her defender and sent in a rocket cross. Waiting in the penalty area was Morgan who timed her run perfectly and with one touch, volleyed the cross into the net. The goalkeeper had no chance. From there we put the brakes on a bit to focus our attention on possessing the ball and moving up and down the field as a team. Tuesday we had trouble keeping our team shape which caused big gaps to form in the middle for our opponents to take advantage. Last night, we did a much better job of keeping our formation tight. At halftime, with goals no longer a priority, we talked about cleaning up our touches and continuing to move off the ball and create more space for our passing game. The second half was much improved. There was better ball movement and better possession. It’s amazing how much more calm we are on the ball when goals are not our top priority. Of course we want to be dangerous, but when we are moving the ball in the correct ways, the goals come. Again, a work in progress. We finished off the game with two more nice goals and cruised to our 4th win of the season. It was a great effort and everyone on the bench contributed. We had two visiting JVC players (Ella Hansen and Elaina Hannon) who both put in great minutes and really helped us out. Thank you. We anticipate a tough match on another Saturday game against an undefeated Bainbridge Island High School JV team. They’ve blown out every team they have faced this season so we’ll have to bring our best effort. Hope to see you at the game. |
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