Varsity - Bellevue vs Mount Spokane 11-23-24

#2 Bellevue 2-0 #8 Mount Spokane
38th min 1-0 Morgan (OG assist)
78th min 2-0 Saleen (Kendall)

Only two teams get to end their high school season with a victory. BGS is one of them.

Small comfort I know, but a much better way to end our 2024 season than the alternative. 

It was a comprehensive win. From the opening whistle, we began linking passes together, controlling tempo, and creating quality chances. With heavy legs from a tough semi-final the day before, we rotated our personnel early and often, and every Wolverine who took the field contributed excellent minutes. Just like in yesterday's game, our substitutes were critical in earning the opening goal, as Morgan juked the Wildcat center back, charged into the box and her snap-shot (pass? shass?) deflected off of another Mt. Spokane defender into the net. 1-0 Bellevue in the 38th minute. Perhaps not our most elegant goal of the year, but a fair scoreline given the overall balance of play. And full credit to Morgan, you don't get to score a goal at Sparks unless you create a chance...Morgan did, and that was the winning goal.  

The second half was similar to the first: Bellevue with the majority of the possession and clear chances, but Mount Spokane remaining very dangerous on counter-attacks and set-pieces. Our final goal of the 2024 season was created with great swarming defense from a Mount Spokane goal kick in the 78th minute, as Mack, Mia and Leah pressured the ball, forcing a sloppy pass in the Wildcat's defensive third that Kendall intercepted with a one-touch pass that released Saleen alone on the keeper. We know how that sequence ends: 2-0 Bellevue. And finally, we could allow ourselves a bit of a smile. Final whistle. 

Yes, a few tears, but happy-sad tears rather than just the sad kind. And a third-place plaque awarded to our captains.

I'm grateful that our 15 seniors got a win in their final game wearing the Bellevue uniform. It's been a wonderful four-year journey, and their collective contributions and leadership are leaving this program in a better place than when they arrived. But we'll have more to say about that tomorrow night at our Girls Soccer Banquet. 

Finally, a sincere "thank you" to the entire Bellevue Girls Soccer community: to the parents cheering in the stands, the grandparents watching our video streams at home, volunteers washing winter parkas, announcing games and choosing cool versions of the National Anthem, organizing booster board meetings, state shirt ordering, hauling travel shelters and benches, hosting team dinners, supporting our C-team night, or organizing senior night...what makes this program special is the amount of earnestness, love, care, and hard work that is invested by everyone. Thank you.

This group deserved to walk off the field in their final game as winners.

See you all tomorrow.