Varsity - Bellevue vs Ridgeline 11-16-24

Bellevue 2-0 Ridgeline
49th min Saleen (Mack & Leah)
57th min Mack (Leah)

We're going to Sparks. 

The Final Four is hosted at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup every year. Only four teams earn the right to play high school soccer the week before Thanksgiving for a shot at a 3A State Championship. Our girls have earned that right.

Almost exactly a year ago, our team suffered a frustrating loss in the State quarterfinals where everything that could go wrong, seemingly did. It happens. That's life. But it stings. 

But a wonderful thing about high school soccer is that each iteration of the team, even with common traditions and returning lots of players, is unique. Fresh. New personalities meshing with the varsity returners. New roles. New perspectives. But for those of us who felt the sting last fall, there was extra motivation to replace that lingering emotional cringe from a year ago with a worthy performance against a very good Ridgeline team. Erase a few memories while making stronger, more positive memories. Plus, we wanted a performance worthy of the last BGS game on Bellevue turf for our 15 seniors.

And that's what we got. From the opening whistle, we were magnificent. No notes (OK, some notes). Every player did their job. Every substitute, whether they got onto the field or not, contributed to the final result with their positivity. It was our best collective performance of the season, against an excellent team. The winning margin didn't come until the second half, but we set the tone in the first. From scouting work, we knew that Ridgeline is a possession-oriented team. They are very good at rotating the ball with quick one and two-touch passes through their talented center-backs and midfielders...if you give them the time to do so. So our plan was simple: stay organized and do our best to press them in spaces where they typically find joy and rhythm. Challenge every entry pass with "front-foot" defending. Anticipate, don't react. And collectively, we did exactly that. It was 0-0 at HT, but we hadn't allowed a single Ridgeline shot. And we had hit both posts, the crossbar, and it not for a series of wonderful saves by the Falcon goalkeeper, we would've had a comfortable lead.

But the goals were coming. We could feel it. In the 49th minute, just like Santa on Christmas Eve, our anticipation was rewarded with a stuffed stocking of a goal. It started with Maddy intercepting the ball at midfield and calmly squaring to Kendall, who calmly played the ball to an overlapping Lola on the right side. Lola played a calm and simple ball to Leah's feet on the right wing and our senior forward sent a delightfully calm ball to the back post where Mack calmly volleyed a pass towards Saleen in the box. Saleen spun her defender and calmly rolled the ball into the far corner of the goal. Our bench was NOT calm. Celebratory pandemonium. Joy. Cheers. Happiness. 1-0 Bellevue. Eight minutes later we added another, as Leah fired a shot at the Ridgeline goalkeeper that she was only able to block, not smother. Natural attacking players are instinctively good at seeking out opportunities to score, like following up every shot in the hope of a deflection or spilled save. Mack has those instincts, and was the first to react, charging the keeper before Leah's shot had even arrived on goal. Tiny bobble. Smashed follow-up. 2-0 Bellevue.

And so now we make plans for the Final Four. We play defending champion Roosevelt on Friday at noon at Sparks Stadium. Two years ago we beat Roosevelt in the Final to win a state championship. Last year, we were on a collision course with Roosevelt before we veered off the road in the quarterfinals and they steamrolled the rest of the way to celebrate with the big trophy. This year, we will meet in the Semi-final, two of the most successful girls high school programs over the last three seasons. It's going to be so fun. Seattle Prep and Mount Spokane will meet in the other semi-final immediately after our game. The Final will be at 3pm on Saturday (3rd place consolation game on Saturday at 10am...so even more motivation on Friday to get more sleep on Saturday).     

Calm. 

We're going to Sparks.

Thanks to all of our supporters who braved the chilly November weather to cheer our team. 

See you on Friday.