Bellevue vs Bishop Blanchet - 9.3.26

Bellevue 4 – 0 Blanchet

44th min Serena (Keira)
54th min Saleen (Keira)
60th min Keira (Mack)
68th min Ava (Saleen)

As some of you may know, Arsenal Football Club won the English Premier League title last year for the first time in over 22 years. A few weeks ago, their coach, Mikel Arteta, was interviewed during his pre-season on how it felt to be the "defending champions." Arteta responded thoughtfully, "we aren't ‘defending champions,’ we are ‘attacking champions’...we are attacking another title, not defending it." (and yes I'm aware that this statement is also a bit ironic from the team/coach that actually led the league in pretty much all defensive statistics..but still..) 

Whether you support Arsenal or would prefer them to lose every game in humiliating fashion (...Spurs supporters), I love Arteta's mentality about how his team should view their upcoming season. 

No laurel resting. The time for celebration is over. If we want a chance to experience a similar journey as last season, action is required—a mentality of playing soccer on the "front foot" rather than in a backpedal. We aren't protecting anything, we are going out and trying to earn something new and deserving. And that was my message in our pre-game team talk before our season-opener against a very well coached and tough Blanchet team. We take the field with a confidence and swagger of champions, but also a humility and respect required when every opponent this season will have circled our name on their schedules beforehand. Reputations and past glory won't win games; effort, attitude, teamwork, commitment, style, skill and creativity will give us the best chance to succeed. Attacking champions. 

And apparently frenzy. After the referee blew the whistle to begin our season, the first 15 minutes were as frenetic, high-pressure, and jittery-quick as any game we have played in several years. Both teams squeezed space at a pace that was simply unsustainable. A high-octane barbarian-at-the-gates over-caffeinated seizure quick. It wasn't particularly good or composed soccer, but it was very very competitive with both teams flying into tackles looking to impose some physical dominance. Inevitably, the game eventually settled into a more normal rhythm. We began to link passes, played more patiently, built sustained possession, and created good goalscoring opportunities. By halftime it was still deadlocked, but we had earned 5 corners and a half-dozen decent shots on their goal while limiting Blanchet to just a few hopeful attempts and zero corners. Overall, it was a very competitive half, a good test of what we can expect all season.  

Our halftime talk was positive. We made some minor adjustments and encouraged even more patience in our attack: play quickly, but never in a hurry. A mantra I'll repeat all season.   

And so we did. In the 45th minute we opened the scoring with a wonderful team goal. Ava and Tanna double-teamed a Blanchet midfielder with a swarming press, forcing a turn-over that Tanna calmly and simply passed wide to Keira on the right wing. Keira created half-a-yard of space on the dribble and sent a perfect curling cross to an onrushing Serena who calmly volley-passed the ball past the Bears' goalkeeper with one exquisite touch. 1-0 Bellevue. Beautiful team goal. Set-up by great ball-winning defence, quick transition, calm passing, creative dribbling, precision crossing, and a very composed finish. More please. 

And there was more. Nine minutes later in the 54th minute, Keira won the ball on the right wing from more good pressing and found a streaking Saleen in the box. One superb cut-back chop and Saleen stretched a shot into the far corner as she was getting clattered by a defender. 2-0 Bellevue. Six minutes later in the 60th minute and the game was put to bed, as Mack won the ball on the left wing from good pressing (nice theme developing here)...and glided into the box weaving through two defenders before firing a shot that the Blanchet keeper could only deflect. But like any good winger, Keira had supported Mack's run from the opposite side (no ball watching here...action instead) and was in the right place, at the right time, and poked the ball home from the doorstep. 3-0 Bellevue. Excellent. 

The icing on the cake was delicious, as we got our first sister act of the season. Elle helped forced a turn-over at midfield with good defending (theme alert), and sister Saleen picked up the ball moving towards our left wing (thereby creating a huge space behind her centrally). Recognizing space is one of the hardest tactics to teach, but Ava already has a doctorate, actively filling the gap in midfield that Saleen had just vacated and rushing towards goal. Saleen pivoted and sent a long diagonal ball towards Ava: one touch to trap, one touch to settle, and one touch to launch a shot from 18yards into the upper right corner of the net. 4-0 Bellevue. Done quickly, but nothing in the sequence looked like it was in a hurry. Smooth.  

The final scoreline was a bit unflattering to Blanchet. They played well and have a team full of quality and talent. But I couldn't be happier about the overall experience. We were challenged throughout, kept a very good organizational shape, and took our chances late in the game as the spaces opened up and the Bears defense got a bit weary. Even more importantly, the supportive energy from our team was outstanding: every substitute entered the game and contributed. Every goal was celebrated as a team. Every goalkeeper save got a hug or high-five. Each block or tough tackle was recognized on the field by our teammates. We've got each other's back, and we will celebrate the little things on the field that add up to good team performances (not just the goals).   

Also, as befits an early non-conference contest, we were able to experiment with several new player combinations and positional adjustments that will help us later in our season. And of course, Elena and Marlee get a special "hat tip" for their first high school minutes in a Bellevue uniform. Well done freshmen.

Thank you to all of the supporters at the game last night. It matters a lot to have a traveling band of friends and family at our games. Thank you. 

Our next game is on the road against powerhouse Tahoma, the 4A finalist in last year's state championship game. It will be another significant test and a great opportunity for us to take the field as Attacking Champions.