Bellevue vs Sammamish 10-29-19

Bellevue 5-1 Sammamish
 
In a game in which the final scoreline seemed both too wide, and yet also too narrow, we honored our seniors in style with a 5-1 win against a resurgent Sammamish soccer program. How could a 5-1 result be both too wide and too narrow? Well, the Totems scored first at the 11th minute, unlocking our defense and firing home to give the visitors the lead. Not exactly the script we had planned for our senior night. However, after the opening goal, we maintained steady pressure, and eventually got our reward in the 22nd minute as Mo sent Chloe free on the Totems keeper (who made a fine save) but the rebound fell invitingly to Halle who calmly stroked the ball home from 25 yards. 1-1. And although we had lots of chances to score again (12/4 Bellevue shots/corners to 1/0 for first half) that's how the scoreline stayed at HT. A tight game in the only statistic that mattered: the scoreboard. So by HT, a 5-1 seems implausible, too wide.  
 
We asked the team at half how they wanted to remember this game, this season, our seniors. If they thought the scoreboard behind them reflected their effort, their talents, their legacy.  
 
And so the players began to edit the script themselves. Heavily. It took five minutes to score the go-ahead goal, a nice combination between Court and Chloe resulting in a cut-back cross and finish at the near post. 2-1 Bellevue. Five minutes after that, Ally sent a perfect diagonal ball across to Court on the left wing, senior to senior, and Court did the rest, out-racing her defender, dribbling the keeper, and scoring into an open net for 3-1. One minute after that, and the game was secure, this time Halle slid a perfect entry-pass to Court on the wing with a similar result and it was 4-1 (the 3rd straight game in which our #3 has scored 2 goals). In the 72nd minute, Zoe latched onto another gorgeous diagonal ball, this time from Kennedy, and sent a pile-driver of a shot past the helpless Totem goalkeeper. Final score 5-1. Final stats: 32/5 shots/corners for Bellevue, 1/0 for Sammamish. Which makes the final scoreline seem modest given the statistical imbalance of the game. 5-1 was far narrower than it could've been. What is indisputable, is that our 2nd half performance was a fitting way for our team to honor our senior players. 
 
And we wish the girls from Sammamish the best of luck as they begin their post-season play in the 2A district tournament that begins on Thursday.  
 
highlights
The pre-game ceremony was awesome. Thank you to all of the boosters, parents, teammates, siblings and grandparents who contributed to make it a special evening. thank you; on the field, there were lots of special moments too. All of the goals were taken smartly, but one of my favorite moments was watching Hinana sprint back after our own corner opportunity turned into a 1v1 counter-attack for the Totems; after sprinting 50yds in pursuit, she won the ball, then kept sprinting into attack to support our counter-attack that she initiated. Watching the video I think Hinana covered well over 120yds on the single play, all at full sprint, late in the game, on a cold cold evening. Wow.; I loved Audrey's occasional marauding runs forward from her center-back position. It is very difficult for an opposing team to account for an aggressive center-back joining the attack. It can't be done too often because it can be risky (and tiring), but last night it was very effective and Audrey was unlucky not to score her own counter-attack goal.
 
Because of our win against Sammamish, we have qualified to play LW next Tuesday in the Kingco tournament championship game. At LW at 7pm. Well done girls. The winner goes directly to the state tournament. If we don't prevail against LW, we would play on Thursday, at BHS against the winner of MI & Juanita in an elimination game. If we win that hypothetical game, then we would play Saturday, in Seattle, against the fourth place team from the Metro league tournament (Prep, Roosevelt, Holy Names, Lakeside, etc.). The winner of that game advances to state, the loser is done. Obviously, we'd prefer to take our opportunity against LW next Tuesday. It's a shorter route, and it would provide a week of rest and recovery. Either way, we'll be ready.