– KINGCO SEMIFINALS –
bellevue 4 - 1 Interlake
3rd min 1-0 Saleen (Mack)
65th min 2-0 Lola (Saleen)
69th min 3-0 Saleen (Ava)
72nd min 4-0 Saleen (Elle)
74th min 4-1 Interlake goal
I took French in high school. And when I was 19, in between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I spent six months in France playing soccer. By the end of that adventure, my French was still not great, but almost conversational, although heavily infused with soccer-related swear words. But once I returned to the US, I never really sought out opportunities to continue my French. With every passing month and year, that part of my brain atrophied or was overwritten with other things: getting married, raising a family, working, and too many hours watching SportsCenter. Today, my French is completely gone. Je m'appelle something something. Say anything to me in French now and you'll get a blank stare in return. The point is this: atrophy happens. Things can break down with the passage of time if they aren't actively kept up.
And so every year at this time, it's a conundrum: I'm thankful we get nine days off between our regular season and tournament soccer because it gives us a chance to rest and recover, which is important, but we also lose a bit of game-speed momentum. Interlake, on the other hand, had played 48 hours earlier against Inglemoor, and won in dramatic fashion in a shootout to qualify for our Kingco Semi-final. They were vibing. So coming into our game, we expected Interlake to be sharp, but maybe a bit tired, while we were rested, but our sharpness was an open question. How much atrophy had crept in? Zut Alors and Oh la la. (It was more than I thought).
I'm not going to write much about our first half other than note the spectacular individual goal Saleen scored in the 23rd minute, beating four Saints on the dribble and sliding the ball beneath the Interlake keeper from a very tight angle to open the scoring. 1-0 Bellevue. It was a beautiful goal, but unlike Interlake, we were not vibing in the other 39 minutes of the first half. Yes, we had the majority of possession and there were passages of play that were promising, but mostly it was a croissant merde. Excuse my French.
So we discussed our collective performance at halftime. Loudly. And vowed to avoid the classic coach's gambit of the simultaneous 10-player substitution.
We were much much much better in the second half. The goals didn't flow immediately, but for me, it wasn't really about the goals. It was about us playing to our potential. Eliminating silly mental errors, choosing good options in possession, and not being lazy in our defensive responsibilities. And we did that. Mostly. The insurance goal arrived in the 65th minute, as Talia made a very good one-touch pass from a wayward Interlake punt upfield to Keira who redirected the ball to Saleen on the right wing. We look so much better as a team when we are playing quickly, simply and decisively. Saleen chose an early bending cross behind the defense that Lola met with perfect timing and poked towards goal (with the help of a rebound or two off the Saints keeper and defender). 2-0 Bellevue. Dam broken, and we began to flow. A few minutes later, Ava played a quick throw-in to Saleen's feet deep in Interlake territory and our senior Captain cut inside and rolled the ball past the keeper at the near post. 3-0 Bellevue. Two minutes after that, Saleen completed her hat-trick, forgoing any "rolling" and choosing extreme velocity instead, blasting a shot from 20 yards past the helpless Interlake keeper. Even sweeter: assist from Elle for a Kozorus-to-Kozorus special. Sister hugs. 4-0 Bellevue.
The Interlake goal came almost immediately after our fourth goal, as we got caught with defenders stranded upfield and slow to recover (eager for a 5th goal? sigh...situational tactics is something we can always get better at managing...), and that choice left even numbers along our backline. So after a soft turn-over in midfield, the Saints launched a quick counter-attack in transition and the speedy Saints winger got behind our defense and finished smartly past an onrushing Katelyn. Upon reflection, Interlake was more than good for their goal. It was earned and deserved and probably should've come earlier in the game if not for an amazing full-sprawl 1on1 save by Elena in the first half. The Saints competed hard and fair all night. Hat tip to every player in white and their coaching staff. Despite the statistical imbalance, that was not a comfy-feeling game for us, and Interlake's collective performance was the reason why (and some exceptional goalkeeping). Well done.
4-1 final score. And we move on. Our magic number is now 5.
A week ago, if you would've asked me to predict our path in the Kingco Tournament, I would've predicted a semi-final against Inglemoor followed by a likely championship game against Liberty. That's what the final regular season standings would've suggested. This is why Vegas sports books are made of money, and I don't gamble. Instead, we got Interlake in the semi-final after their well-earned upset against the Vikings, and instead of our State Finalist friends from Liberty in the Kingco Final, we get the opportunity to renew our historical rivalry with Mercer Island. Yep, while we were battling the Saints, MI beat Liberty 1-0 in a mild Semi-Final upset. The Islanders are 13-1-2 on the season with some impressive results (1-1 vs EC, 3-1 vs Roosevelt, 1-0 vs Liberty...5 goals allowed all season), which sets up a wonderfully tasty 3A Kingco final. The Championship game, with a trophy and an automatic berth to the State Tournament to the winner, is next Tuesday night, November 3rd at 7pm. Against rival Mercer Island. Delightful. Spicy. Can't wait.
Thanks again to all our supporters for cheering us on last night in chilly and rainy conditions . And Happy Birthday Katelyn.
A bientot.
