11/27/2021 Bellevue vs Stadium 9-4-21Bellevue 2-0 Stadium
a '15 Halle (Nova) '57 Lilian (Chloe) a "I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?" a I feel whelmed. a What a day. The Bellevue girls soccer program kicked off the 2021 season in Tacoma at one of the most beautiful high school stadiums in the country. In what was a nearly perfect early afternoon, all three of our teams prevailed against a quality program that regularly competes in the state tournament. a After our C-team completed a gritty 2-1 victory, our JV team was nearly perfect in overwhelming their opponents 8-1 in one of the most clinical finishing displays I've seen in high school soccer. Finally, the varsity lined up against a very tough and speedy Stadium team that showed attacking intent from the opening whistle; however, we quickly got control of the midfield through patient and quick-passing possession. It wasn't long before Nova latched onto a ball on the right wing, cut inside the defense and rolled a perfect pass to Halle who had made a deep run from her holding midfield position. Halle sidestepped the last defender and casually passed the ball into the back of the net for 1-0 lead in the 15th minute. It was a wonderful team goal that began deep in our own half, and ended with a quality finish due to intelligent movement from our midfielders and wingers. a The game remained tight for the balance of the half, but our defense was stout and we entered halftime with the lead and hadn't allowed more than an exploratory shot or two from the Tigers. In the second half, the depth of our team began to wear down the Stadium defense. Our roster is 20 players strong, and each player on our roster knows their role, and how it fits within our team concept. And although the Stadium roster is talented, they simply didn't have the same depth and it began to show in the 2nd half. It's a coach's dream to be able to send new players into a tight game and have complete confidence that the quality will remain at a high level. And it did. Our final goal was as much about hustle and desire than it was about team possession and stylish finishing. Chloe danced around her defender from her left fullback position and sent a delightful ball down the left wing to Lillian who was making a run from her striker position. The Stadium defender got to the ball first but was under pressure and sent a blind pass back to her keeper. Now Lillian didn't need to chase the back pass...but good strikers know that oftentimes the best way to score is to relentlessly pressure the opposing defenders into errors...and that's what Lillian did, pouncing on a momentary delay by the Stadium keeper, and sliding past her to knock the ball into the open net. It was a predatory goal of hustle, grit and desire. a Stylistically, we aspire to possess the ball all over the pitch with calm precision and movement off the ball; but raw desire and hard work will always be the most important quality we expect from our players. a It was a great start to our 2021 season. And now we shift our focus to one of the best teams in the Metro League, Biship Blanchett, who visit us on Tuesday at BHS Stadium. a Big thanks to all of the families who drove down to Tacoma on a holiday weekend. a Peter a ps. bonus points for those who recognize the quote that began this recap, apparently there is a reasonably famous movie that was filmed at Stadium HS? Comments are closed.
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