Sammamish

Bellevue 2-0 Sammamish

​We did enough to win. But it wasn't particularly pretty.    We began the back half of our kingco league season with a well-deserved win against a scrappy Sammamish side that we had swept aside 5-0 earlier in the year. The return game was quite different. Although the final result was never in doubt, we labored to find any rhythm to our play. Perhaps the wet turf was a contributing factor, (although in similar conditions on Tuesday vs Juanita, we were magnificent). Certainly, a very brave Totem team were much better organized, worked hard for each other, and their freshman goalkeeper had an excellent game. But sometimes, it just doesn't come together. And it's difficult to diagnose why. That's sport. Fortunately, even on our off-days, we have enough quality to earn three points.    On Thursday, our three points came from a moment of pure style and class. In the 20th minute, Ana skillfully controlled a lofted Sammamish clearance in midfield and played a simple lateral ball to Paige, who quickly relayed to Jojo's feet upfield; Jojo played a very clever first time pass to an overlapping Sophie on our right wing and into open space; Sophie hit a beautiful first-time cross to a sprinting Joelle who hammered a header past the helpless Totem goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. It was an exquisite goal in an otherwise plain and uninspiring first half. One or two touches from each player in the combination, the weight of precision of each pass was perfect, and the finish was sublime.  More please.       The second half was much better, even though the scoreline was similar. We were more patient in keeping possession, switching the point of attack and waiting until passing lanes opened up to find the feet of our striker or wingers. Our goal came from a sweetly struck free kick, this time it was Sophie who stepped up and hit a lazer that glanced off the crossbar before burying in the back of the net. I'll have to check the video, but I'm pretty sure that Sophie was almost 40 yards away. Not exactly a high probability scoring zone, but when hit as perfectly as Sophie's direct kick, it doesn't matter. Don't tell me the odds.     We outshot Sammamish 25-3, and had a 6-0 corner margin. So although our strike rate wasn't record-setting, it was enough. We closed another week as an undefeated team, with two more victories that brings us closer to our initial goal of a fourth successive league championship. For context, last year at this time, we were 6-3-0. We are on the right trajectory.          Next week it gets more difficult, as we play both teams responsible for our blemishes earlier in the season:  Redmond and MI. Neither team has reason to fear the Wolverines after our first encounter. I'm hopeful that we will rectify that by the end of next week.       Highlights.  Our overall effort was good. We pressed Sammamish all over the field and made it difficult for them to even cross midfield; kudos to Paige, Caylee, Maud, Nikole, Priya, Claire and Madi for another shutout, our 4th in a row, and 6th this season. It's a streak I'd like to prolong; Katie, Ana and Courtney were very good at holding midfield, especially in the 2nd half when we used their excellent passing to maintain possession and consistently switch the point of attack; although our overall attack was still a bit disjointed, we had flashes of brilliance. Kiley rattled the crossbar in the second half and combined well; Jojo pressed and worked hard to distribute the ball from her no10 role; Joelle, Grace and Sophie made very hard-charging runs attempting to unlock the Totem defense.