11/27/2021 Bellevue vs Sammamish 10-4-19Bellevue 2-1 (OT) Sammamish
As I told our girls at halftime when we were in a 1-0 hole to Sammamish, the speech I was composing in my head was an editing battle between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On the side of the angels, we played some of the most beautiful possession soccer I have witnessed in my four years as head coach (the first 15 minutes of the game, and long stretches of the first half. Evidence: we began the game with a 17 consecutive pass sequence, followed by a 27 pass sequence the next time we got the ball...I mean, that's just incredible); but Faust's Mephistopheles kept arguing the devil's case that we had also played some of our most disjointed and sloppiest soccer of our current season (2nd half). And weirdly, it was during our beautiful phase that we couldn't seem to score and even allowed a goal from a free kick taken from 40 yds away (ugh); and during our sloppy phase we actually clawed two goals back to win the narrowest of victories in overtime against the Totems. So what finally came out of my mouth at halftime was probably a message at war with itself, but one point was clear: the girls needed to find a way. Full stop. The SHS free kick was in the 15th minute. It was certainly struck well, but we won't allow any goals like that going forward. One is enough for a season (or lifetime). Behind at halftime despite outshooting the Totems 10-1 in the first half, we pushed hard for an equalizer that finally came in the 58th minute, with Halle feeding Mo in front of goal and our leading scorer punched it in to the massive relief of the soggy coaching staff and brave fans. We pressed for a winning goal before regulation ended, but the Sammamish defense was tough and their goalkeeper was steady. It wasn't until the 3rd minute of the first overtime that we got the winning goal, with Wolverine hero Mo again providing the drama with a very poised goal, cutting inside her defender and depositing the ball into the lower left corner from a very nice entry pass from Chloe. Every successful season has a game similar to what we experienced tonight: a game in which the ball seems like a magnet with the same polarity as the goalmouth, so no matter how many shots are taken (24 to be exact), the ball seems to repel away from the goal harmlessly. Over and over. But as we discussed at halftime, successful teams find a way. Even if it takes fighting the laws of physics for the evening. Willing the polarity of the ball and goal to switch from opposition to attraction..by sheer will power if necessary. After the classy style of the first few minutes of the game, that's what it felt like it took: will power. Mental toughness. Grit. And a few moments of composure from Mo when we needed it most. Full credit and respect to Sammamish. They were brave, and probably deserved at least a point after their performance (and were very close to the full three points). They are easily the most improved team in our league year-over-year, and will continue to give the rest of our league issues with their organized play. We didn't underestimate them going into the game (we knew they were playing great soccer), they got our best effort as seen by how we began the game, and the Totems still led the contest for most of the evening. Kudos to their coaching staff and players. Up next for us: Mercer Island at home on Monday. I know the girls will be ready. Comments are closed.
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