9/11/2024 Varsity - Bellevue vs Shorewood 9-10-24Bellevue 4-1 Shorewood
26th min Saleen PK 31st min Morgan (Emily) FK 34th min Shorewood goal 42nd min Saleen (Maddy) 64th min Paris (Kaitlyn) corner There are 14 mountain peaks on our planet that are over 8000 meters in elevation. This week I saw the documentary "14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible" about Nepalese mountaineer Nimsdai Purja's attempt to climb all 14 in seven months. For context, less than 40 people in history have summited all 14 peaks, and before Nimsdai's record-breaking attempt, the previous best time for accomplishing that feat was over 7 years. Why so few, and why so long? Because it's hard. And risky. The amount of careful planning, physical preparation, mental toughness, and skillful teamwork required to climb one 8000-meter peak is grueling, let alone 14 successful attempts in short succession. And although "Nims" rightfully gets the recognition for [spoiler alert] completing such an audacious accomplishment (he's a total badass), what struck me most was that none of it would've been possible without the complete trust between Nims and his fun-loving and elite climbing team of Nepalese mountaineers. When climbing serious 8k+ meter mountains like Everest, K2 or Annapurna (one death per 3 climbers who make the Annapurna summit if anyone is looking to quantify the "riskiness" of such things), your team is forging ahead and doing the unglamorous tasks like securing ropes or hauling equipment (or shooting video for Netflix). Without a team that is committed to the success of the campaign, big audacious goals are impossible. Belief is such an important ingredient, which is why before Nims began their first expedition of 14, he called his attempt "Project Possible." Is summiting K2 similar to a successful season in Washington high school soccer? Well perhaps I get a tiny bit hyperbolic in these things, but I do know that without every player committing to their role, and without every player trusting that their teammates will give their utmost, getting to the summit is much less likely. Even in the sometimes arduous climb that is high school girls soccer. And so last night we took the field against defending Wesco champion Shorewood, our next attempt in the 14 games left in this regular season. And...it was a bit rugged in the opening phases. We worked hard defensively and didn't allow many chances for Shorewood, but in possession, we lacked composure and didn't have much rhythm. Despite our disjointed attack, we took the lead in the 24th minute with a crisp and confident penalty taken by Saleen, who had been upended in the box moments earlier in one of those fouls that are so obvious that both teams just stop and look at the referee a fraction of a second BEFORE the whistle is even blown. 1-0 Bellevue. Five minutes later we increased our lead as Emily launched a long FK into the Shorewood box and Morgan reacted quickest, bravely heading past the charging keeper. 2-0 Bellevue. And it seemed like we finally had the game in control...until... two minutes later when we conceded from a misjudged header that deflected off of the Shorewood striker and into our net (not offsides, the video evidence is clear). Unfortunate. And 2-1 halftime. At halftime, we asked for more composure in possession and fluidity in attack, and we got it right away. Direct from the kick-off we maintained possession, Mia raced down the left wing and sent in a dangerous cross that we narrowly missed converting. From the subsequent goalkeeper punt, Maddy won the ball with a confident header, Saleen picked up the loose ball, beat her defender on the dribble, and blasted a shot into the upper near-post corner from 20 yards. Magnificent finish. 3-1 Bellevue and the tone was set. The rest of the second half was significantly better than the first. We played team soccer, rotating the ball across the field, finding feet instead of rushing low-percentage through balls into tight areas. We added our final goal in the 64th minute from a well-taken corner. Kaitlyn headed the ball downwards at the back post (!!!) and looked certain to score but the keeper made a nice reaction save that bounced directly to Paris who scored from the doorstep. 4-1 Bellevue. Final score. Solid victory. Although we scored two goals in each period, the statistics tell a tale of two very different halves: 5 shots in the first half, and 15 in the 2nd for a total of 20 attempts and 4 corners for Bellevue versus 5 total shots and 0 corners for Shorewood. Let's remember what the second half felt like and do more of that... The most gratifying point from a coaching perspective is that our Shorewood win had important contributions from the entire roster: Saleen's PK was preceded by two hard ball-winning challenges by Maddy at midfield that launched the counter-attack that led to the foul in the box; Morgan came off the bench and gave us a big lift in possession from her striker position, including her first varsity goal; Emily, Kaitlyn and Rebecca were the only Bellevue players who played all 80 minutes, providing a rock-solid cornerstone at the base of our defense; and freshman Paris earned her first goal in a Bellevue jersey and celebrated with joyful enthusiasm surrounded by her teammates. Those are just a few, but I could list contributions from every Bellevue player in key moments. It was a very nice team win. We are blessed to have extraordinarily talented individuals in the 2024 edition of Bellevue Girls soccer; however, to achieve our lofty goals this year, we need to play like a TEAM. Everyone needs to take their gritty turn setting the ropes before we have a chance to reach the summit. Contested headers, brave clearances, tracking back, tough tackles, quick counter-pressing, and organized defensive shape are the foundation upon which we build fluid, creative, and joyful attacking soccer. One can't happen without the other. Big smiles on the summit are always preceded by the hundreds of little tasks contributed by every member of the team. We have an opportunity to climb again tomorrow against Metro League stalwart Eastside Catholic. Game times are later on Thursday, 6pm for JV, and an 8pm kick-off for varsity. 13 more peaks to climb in our 2024 regular season over the next 7 weeks. Project Possible. Comments are closed.
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