Junior Varsity - Bellevue vs Liberty 10-17-24

​Bellevue JV 2-1 Liberty
 
19th min Liberty goal
50 min Tara (PK)
78th min Emily (Tara)
 
A road trip to Liberty High School is never easy and Thursday night was no exception. They are always a fast, gritty and well-coached team. The stadium always seems to be ten degrees colder than any other place we play. Tack on a hard, slick field and these games are always close.
 
The start was very even throughout as both team struggled to connect passes on a this chilly night. Lots of bouncing balls, heavy passes and back and forth action. We weren’t playing poorly, we just couldn’t find the right pass or shot.
 
Liberty got the upper hand on us in the 20th minute as a cross in front of our goal took an unfortunate deflection and dropped kindly to the Patriot forward. She didn’t waste anytime and smashed it home.
 
Down a goal at halftime, we talked about stepping up intensity so we could win a few more balls and get more possession. If that happened, we felt there were some goals out there for us.
 
The second half was more of the same as two good teams battled for the ball. Things changed about midway through the half when Serena streaked toward goal only to be brought down in the penalty area by a Liberty defender. We were awarded a penalty kick and it was redemption time for Tara. If you remember from our very first game Tara lofted our only other PK of the season over the crossbar. Not this time. She expertly hit this kick and we were tied 1-1.
 
More back and forth action proceeded the goal and to most everyone it looked like we were headed to a tie game. Both teams were creating chances but it was Bellevue that was able to push one in.
 
With just minutes remaining there was quite a scramble in front of the Liberty goal. Several shots were blocked, and several clearances failed to leave the area. Tara got her foot on one shot that hit the far post but Emily was there to somehow get her body on it and into the goal. Wow. Game winning goal at the death.
 
I was proud of our team for continuing to fight throughout the game on a tough, tough night. It was nice to see hard work paying off with a nice 2-1 victory.
 
One more week and two more games to go as we host both Remond and rival Lake Washington. Our captains are in charge of our last practice on Wednesday so that is always a treat to see what they come up with. See you on the pitch.