Bellevue vs Hazen 10-19-21

Bellevue 2-0 Hazen
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32nd min Kendall (unassisted)
52nd min Bekah (Kate)
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It was our first visit to Renton Memorial Stadium and...it was really nice. The turf and stadium are brand new, it was a full moon, not raining, and warm for a mid-October Kingco league match. (In fact, the stadium looks like the exact blueprint used to build Sparks Stadium, the annual host site for the 3A & 4A girls soccer Final Four.  A place that we very much want to visit later next month). It was senior night for Hazen, so there were balloons and flowers on the sidelines and supportive families in the stands. It was a nice night. Which is how I would describe the game. It was...nice. Not fabulous, not stylish, not comprehensive or clinical, not super physical...just...nice. We set a season record for shots with 29/1 versus 2/0 shots/corners for Hazen; but any night when you launch 29 shots but only earn 1 corner, you know that either the opposing goalkeeper had an amazing night (very solid), or we were lacking a bit of edge to our finishing and most of our shots were going wide or over. So it was great that we created so many chances, but not great that we finished so few...but the job got done.
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It took until the 32nd minute to open the scoring as Kendall pounced on a rebound in the box and slotted it home after a great cross by Alex and two previous blocked shots by Halle and Becks. Kendall is our "fox in the box," an English phrase given to players who always seem to be in the right place at the right time to score goals from crosses, rebounds or deflections. Well done Kendall. And an instant pressure release valve goal that was threatening to explode at halftime. Or at least make the coach explode.   
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We added a 2nd goal in the 52nd minute that looked very similar to a goal we scored against Hazen in our first game, this time with Halle passing to Bekah deep in midfield and our speedly right-winger beating 3 Hazen defenders with guile and pace before hammering a simple low hard shot past the keeper. It was a goal of such seemingly simple ease (it wasn't, it's just that the spectacular often looks simple), that I wondered if the floodgates would open and the goals would flow. But they didn't. The Hazen keeper and backline had a very solid outing, and full credit to their team, they battled until the final whistle, never giving up despite the clear possession and shot advantage that we maintained throughout the game. There were more chances, several near misses, but we saw out the game for a final score of 2-0. Most importantly, three more points and we maintained our lead in the Kingco league standings.   
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Next up we play Interlake in a very rare Friday night game. Kick-off at 7:30pm. 
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As we discussed with the girls in the bus after the game, we have been hit very hard with the injury bug in the last week; several girls have knocks, creaky ankles, or other nagging injuries. So between studying and being a normal high school student, it's ice, ibuprofen, and stretching. Or whatever it takes for your player to stay as healthy as possible as we go into the home stretch. It's frustratingly normal for this time in the season. We've been playing 5x per week for almost 2 months now, a grind that differs from a club season.  It requires strong bodies and disciplined preparation like proper nutrition, hydration and treatment. Hopefully the extra day of before Interlake will be well spent, and we'll be ready to go again on Friday. The end is frightfully near, let's finish strong.   
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FTJ