Junior Varsity - Bellevue vs Mt Si 10-3-24

Bellevue JV 0- 6 Mt Si
As I watched a bit of film of the Mt Si JV soccer team prior to our road game Thursday night, I saw a big, physical team capable of scoring goals in bunches. However, I didn’t see a team we couldn’t beat. Maybe I’m an optimist, but I knew what our team is capable of. If we could get back to basics, ball control, possession, and grit, we could give one of the league’s best, a good game.

The game started well for the Bellevue girls, and we held up well under the frantic conditions. There were lots battles for bouncing balls and it felt, from the sidelines, like an even affair. Unfortunately, it only lasted 11 minutes. That is when things started to turn in Mt. Si’s favor. They started to win the ever-so-important 50/50 balls, and they started to impose their physicality. A loose ball fell kindly to a Mt. Si midfielder who ripped a 30-yard rocket Leia could only watch ripple the net. It was a bit deflating as I thought we were in this game.

However, the last 20 minutes of first half turned against us. Our bugaboos reared their ugly heads and some failed clearances, weak tackles and inability/reluctance to head the ball gave the upper hand to our opponents. We let the Wildcats dictate the action and push us off the ball. We backed down a bit and lost a lot of the ball.

We found ourselves down 2-0 at halftime which we felt was not an insurmountable lead. We talked about what it would take to get back in the game and we all decided (mostly me) it would take more fight. When I played soccer, and I still do, I never liked getting pushed off the ball. I got mad. I fought back. When one team is overly aggressive, you must match it. Period. If you don’t, things tend to go in the wrong direction. I implored the girls to use the second half to match Mt St’s intensity and grit and push back a little. I never want my teams to play dirty, even when the other team stoops to that level. I just want my teams to have an edge to them. Never back down and fight hard, if not harder, then the other team. See where that takes us.

In the second half, Charlotte, one of our (many) silent assassins came out strong, dug out a couple balls from scrums and knocked some people off the ball. Exactly what we needed. The other players took notice and we began to battle. We turned our intensity up a notch.

In my last recap I talked about improvement. The second half was an improvement. Although we gave up more goals, I thought we had a bit more edge to us which has been a long time coming. We still have areas of concern: work rate and ball control at the top of the list. Technical skill is so important in this sport and when players ask how they can improve, that is number one. You can’t coach speed and tenacity, but you can always work on trapping, passing, shooting and ball control. All things I plan to emphasize the second half of the season. Hopefully, we can get healthy as the flu and cramping have run rampant through this team.

​There are no easy games remaining for this team. Only room for improvement. If we continue to fight and elevate our technical skills, we can make this a successful campaign. Let’s all dig in. On the road again Tuesday for a late start (7 pm) at Bothell. See you on the pitch.
 
******* One side note: please, please volunteer to help out when Stacy (our team manager) asks. It takes a team (literally) to get through the season. Please don’t just be a passenger in this journey. Your commitment is needed. I fully understand everyone has busy lives, but just getting your daughter on the field is only half the battle. Please don’t let one or two families do all the heavy lifting. Your help is needed. Thank you.