Varsity - Bellevue vs Mt Si 10-3-24

Bellevue 0-3 Mount. Si
18th min 0-1 Mount. Si
28th min 0-2 Mount. Si
44th min Mt. Si PK saved
79th min 0-3 Mount Si

"Hope is the thing with feathers / that perches in the soul / and sings the tune without words / and never stops - at all." --Emily Dickinson


Our tour of Kingco 4A stadiums continued on Thursday evening as we visited Mount Si's home field for the first time. Unusually, the entire stadium has been built on stilts (as was the high school) due to the frequent flooding from the adjacent Snoqualmie River. It made for quirky and firm surface. But the turf had nothing to do with the final result as we succumbed to the league-leading Wildcats 0-3. Tough week of results for our team.  

The scoreline wasn't very flattering, but our overall play was promising. It seems odd to declare after a heavy defeat: but we looked good. Confident on the ball. Unlike our game against Woodinville, we controlled possession throughout, outshot the Wildcats, and were a bit unlucky (and sloppy) in the goals we conceded. But this is simply a part of our sport, you don't get points for possession or pretty play; however, I firmly believe that this team is progressing nicely, and if we continue to improve our poise and technicality, the results (and goals), will follow. Incidentally, a huge contributor to Mount Si's league-leading start to the season is the exceptional play of their goalkeeper. She is surely among the best we will face all season and was a big reason we failed to leave Mount Si with a few goals scored in our favor.   

I'm not going to catalog the goals scored against us other than to note that we conceded in the 18th, 28th, and 79th minutes. All goals included breakdowns that we simply can't afford this late in our season. Our mental focus needs to be better. (on the brighter side of the ledger, Sofia came off the bench in the 2nd half to play goalkeeper and saved a PK in the 44th minute. well done Sofia).   

Now we exit the 4A Kingco gauntlet that has included the defending state champ (Skyline), 2nd place finalist (Woodinville), 3rd place finisher (Issaquah), and quarterfinalists (Mount Si and Eastlake). Not surprisingly, our program has the toughest strength of schedule in the state in our RPI calculation. Although our injury list has never been longer with two more players going down against Woodinville, we are expecting good news this week as players are returning from long-term injuries which will give much-needed flexibility from our bench. 

This week we enter the back half of our Kingco season and get to play some more new 4A opponents (Bothell, North Creek, Redmond, and newly 3A Inglemoor), and a few old friends too (Liberty & LW). It won't be easy by any means (Liberty and Inglemoor are ranked #1 and #2 in the current RPI), but with a bit more substitution flexibility, and our overall play beginning to find more rythym going forward, I'm eager for the next few weeks to prove ourselves. This is the pointy end of the season and it's time to perform to our potential. And our potential has a very high ceiling.    

I'm hopeful. And we'll never stop - at all. 

ps. This Sunday we host our Bellevue United girls soccer clinic. It's an annual event that is our way to give-back to the grassroots part of our game. Our girls will be coaching young girls between the ages of 5-11 with the focus on fun and teaching a few important skills to the next wave of Bellevue soccer participants. Many of the players in our program attended the clinic when they were young, and we are looking forward to continuing the tradition.