Varsity - BHS vs Central Kitsap 11-15-25

Bellevue 3-2 Central Kitsap

10th min 0-1 CK goal corner
13th min 0-2 CK goal corner
17th min 1-2 Ava FK
39th min 2-2 Nora (Ava)
78th min 3-2 Saleen (Raina)

As I drove away from Bellevue stadium after our quarter-final win, I had my Apple Music algorithm serving me up music as I processed the last few hours of incredible drama. Blasting through the speakers, I heard the following lyrics:

It feels cold and I feel old
And all these gray hairs warm up my soul
And though the lines on my face feel new
I've been carving them my whole life through... (Mihali, "Carved Lines")

Our quarter-final game against Central Kitsap definitely contributed to a few more carved lines on the coach's face. But happily most of them will be from post-game smiles, celebratory roars at each Bellevue goal, pride in this program, and blessed relief. What a game. Worth every wrinkle.  

We prevailed 3-2 in the most dramatic way possible, advancing to the State Final Four next weekend at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup where we will get a rematch against Roosevelt at 4:45pm on Friday.  (Eastside Catholic will play Liberty in the other Semi-final at 7pm for an all-district 2 Final Four, Metro vs Kingco). On Saturday, the final is at 5pm, and the 3rd place game is at 12:15pm. So two more games left in our season, regardless of results. 

Central Kitsap gave us everything we could handle, and then some. The Cougars earned a corner in the 10th minute and scored a great header at the near post and we were down 0-1 for the first time in weeks. But wait, it gets worse, three minutes later CK earned another corner and deja vu'd us to a 0-2 deficit, but this time with a header from the back post. Two very well executed set pieces, and we got to experience something that we had never experienced before: a two goal hole we needed to climb out of... But we didn't quit. We didn't grumble. We didn't shout at each other. We just put the ball at center field and got back to work.  

We also made a few tactical adjustments, shifting our formation to better deal with Central Kitsap's two forward set and add more players to midfield. And the momentum began to tip towards the home team. In the 17th minute, Ava took a free kick from 25 yards and blasted a missle of a shot that beat the keeper at the near post. Still 1-2 CK but we had a lifeline. CK was still dangerous on the break, but we began to create our typical pile of chances. And another pile of near misses. But with seconds left in the half we got our equalizer in spectacular fashion, as Ava dropped a simple ball back to her midfield partner Nora (in the massive GAP in midfield), and our senior Captain said goodbye to Bellevue Stadium in the best way possible, with a 30yard shot that found the narrowest gap between CK's goalie's fingertips and the underside of the crossbar. Exuberance. Exhilaration. Exhale. Halftime whistle. 2-2 tie. New game. Forty minutes of soccer left. 

And for the next forty minutes, two very good teams battled with full effort, committed tackles, stout defense, and each with their own respective flavor of offense: CK with lightning quick counter-attacks, and switched play build-up possession down the wings, and decisive dribbling in the attacking third from our Wolverines. And just as it looked like overtime was likely (and my shootout list was being quietly unfolded), the fog rolled in and covered the field in an eerie blanket for dramatic effect (like a fog machine in a 80s era stadium rock show), and we got the winner with less than three minutes left in the game. Ava won the ball at midfield from a Cougar punt and passed square to Raina; two-touches and a quick, direct ball to Saleen's feet just outside the CK box, scissor move to her left creating a half a yard of space at the top of the box, and a low hard finish to the near post past the diving goalkeeper. Our junior captain has been a highlight reel all season, but this goal goes to the very top of the list. Pandemonium. Hugs. High-fives. 3-2 Bellevue. Final score. Amazing. Just amazing.            

I'm so happy for our team, especially our seniors who get to leave Bellevue Stadium for the last time as winners. The final statistics were heavily in our favor, 21 shots 2 corners vs 5 shots 2 corners for CK (two very productive corners from their perspective). And like our game against Ridgeline, we had a 56% possession edge. But it never felt like a competitive mismatch, more of a stylistic difference. Again, they gave us all we could handle. 

So respectful commiserations to the team from Central Kitsap. They played a beautiful game, fought hard and fair, but soccer can be cruel in how quickly fortunes can change. And after the first 13 minutes of our game, our fortunes needed changing. And they did, in the best possible way.  

And we are off to Sparks to create more memories, a few more carved lines.