Bellevue vs Newport - 10.2.26

bellevue 6 - 0 Newport

2nd min 1-0 Mack (Saleen)
18th min 2-0 Saleen PK
27th min 3-0 Ava (Lola)
61st min 4-0 Mack (Saleen)
69th min 5-0 Saleen FK
72nd min 6-0 Elle (Ava)

About five hours before we were scheduled to play Newport on Thursday, we learned that a series of dominoes had fallen: Hazen's football team had so many players injured and/or ill that they had to forfeit the Homecoming game scheduled for Friday night, leaving our football team without an opponent. On such short notice, our Athletic Director couldn't find another football team for Friday Night Lights. And so, I got a call asking if we'd be willing to reschedule our Thursday game (to be played in just a few hours at that moment) for the Friday Homecoming celebration instead. If Newport was willing. We were in. All in.

I felt bad for our football program. Homecoming is a special night and proud tradition. But I was excited for our girls to be the central focus for a celebration that included band kids, dance families, cheerleaders, choir, student government, and the social fabric of going out with your friends on a Friday night. What a great opportunity. 

On the whiteboard in the locker room before the team arrived I wrote a single message: "Be Fearless, and Play." This wasn't going to be a near-empty field at Preston or Marymoor early on a Saturday morning. Instead, their peers were going to be watching, nerves were going to be jangling, and I wanted our players to stay in the moment, and simply play the game that they had invested the requisite 10,000 hours to master (perhaps an exaggerated estimate, but still..). Just play. Joyfully, with enthusiasm, soaking in the added attention and making strong memories of what performing in front of a real crowd feels like.    

Be Fearless, And Play. 

The backdrop was amazing. I'll always remember the band circling the stadium pre-game. The Cheerleaders, slightly unsure if this change was going to work, but doing their routines with pride and full voice. The choir singing the national anthem. Just beautiful. There is something magical about a group of people coming together and singing, whether it's boozy and off-key English Premier League supporters in the away end, fans at a Taylor Swift concert, or a trained and talented a-cappella choir. Tingles. And most importantly, a student section that amplified the fantastic energy like a Greek chorus: singing, chanting, heckling (in a good way), booing, celebrating goals...perfect athletic theater.  

And so by the time we got to the opening whistle, the stadium was already crackling (in a high-school-sports-kinda-way). Electric. And within two minutes, we gave the Homecoming party a turbo-boost with a wonderful team goal. It started with excellent distribution from Katelyn with a throw wide left to Aanya in space; Aanya turned and slid a 20yr ball up the left wing to Kasia checking back, and with smooth economy-of-motion, Kasia turned and relayed another simple pass to Saleen's feet as she made a clever diagonal run from her striker position. A series of body feint chop moves left two Knight defenders in a knot, and got the crowd on their feet with "oohs" and "aahhhs," before a final cut-back cross to Mack at the six yard box to smash home in the upper near corner. Bedlam. Crowd erupting. Band playing the fight song for a goal (not just a touchdown), hugs all around. 1-0 Bellevue. What a start. 

We continued to pressure Newport but the zizzle zazzle of the opening minutes and wonderfully bonkers crowd clearly had our adrenaline pumping and for the next ten minutes we were jittery, with overly-excited too-heavy passing and an extra dose of overdribbling. But goals have a funny way of settling nerves, and we got our second in the 18th minute as Saleen drove into the box on the dribble, a defender dangled a leg, and our striker went down just inside the box. The referee was in a good position and correctly signaled for a PK, which Saleen dispatched with confidence. More band. More cheers. More hugs. 2-0 Bellevue. Our third goal came from some clever play by Lola. Newport had kicked the ball out-of-bounds just inside our attacking third, and instead of allowing the defense to set, Lola took a quick throw-in to Ava immediately after the ball had crossed the line. Unprepared for such a quick restart, Newport was slightly out of position, including their goalkeeper, Ava spotted the opportunity, and hit a screamer from 35 yards at a tight angle that just grazed the goalie's gloves as it settled into the far corner of the net. Excellent awareness by Lola to get the ball into play quickly, and a wonderful power-ball winner from Ava to make the halftime score 3-0.

Halftime was short. And long. Short in that I kept my comments to a minimum because we wanted the players to enjoy the full halftime show. It was a unique night, and I didn't want them to miss a thing. And it was long too. Because we had a Homecoming halftime show: twenty minutes of dance team, followed by marching band. Excellent performances by both. 

We expected the crowds to thin after the halftime show as we weren't sure if band and dance families, plus our student section, would stay for our second half. But most did. And we were so thankful for the support, we treated them to another three goals. In the 61st minute, Saleen and Mack did their best to recreate the first goal, with a near scene-by-scene mirror remake that would make the live-action Moana producers blush. Again, Kasia started the move by winning the ball deep in Newport territory, and slipping a crisp square ball to Saleen with only one defender to beat, which she did, but reinforcements arrived quickly as the Knights had learned their first-half lesson and sent a full round table after our #10...which left Mack wide open near the top of the box to receive a pass and thump another lefty shot past the goalkeeper to earn her brace. 4-0 Bellevue. 

Then moments after I had signaled to Saleen that she was going to be substituted, she buzzed into the Newport box with purpose, spun back and had her heels clipped by some over-zealous defending. Upon video review, it was clear that Saleen was fouled a full yard in the box, but referees often hesitate to award penalty kicks when the score is lopsided and the foul is close to the line, so he awarded a free kick just outside the box instead (I understand why and I'm fine with it...I'm very much a "within the spirit of the game" kinda coach...). No worries. But it helped that Saleen proceeded to hit a low worm-burner power-shot that kissed off the far post and in. 5-0 Bellevue. Strike a pose. More hugs. And two minutes later in the 72nd minute, we earned a corner. It was well-taken by Ava, and Elle crashed the central zone and nodded a definitive header back towards the back post and into the net for her first varsity goal. 6-0 Bellevue. Final score.  

I wrote after Tuesday's game about how Homecoming is the Bermuda Triangle of soccer weeks. And that still holds. It is. We didn't plan for such a celebration. But we were given an unexpected opportunity, and we bravely sailed straight through it. We had fun. We played to the crowd. Admittedly, the game wasn't always flowing soccer, but why quibble on such a beautiful night. It was everything that is awesome about high school athletics. Singing. Dancing. Loud music. Cheering. Community. Announcers giving their best Telemundo-inspired "goooooooooooaaaaaaaal" call over the loud-speakers. (and barely a phone in sight).

Sincerest thanks to everyone who helped make tonight possible. I understand that changing anything with little or no notice isn't comfy, and perhaps many soccer families had to cancel plans they had for Friday night...so thank you for doing so. And thank you on behalf of the band families. the dance families. the ASB leadership families. and the choir kids. Because without our program accepting the understudy invitation, students who had worked hard on their Homecoming performances would've been left without a shared stage for their talents. And after hearing this six times against Newport, this is the soundtrack of my dreams...I hope we can convince the band to join us again for another home game (Kingco final?).  

A final sincere thanks to the Newport girls soccer team. They also had their weekend plans disrupted (...to preserve another school's Homecoming party, no less). Not the easiest invitation to accept. But they did. Thank you. 

Next week we play a very good Lake Washington team away on Tuesday, before returning home on Thursday to face Eastlake. See you there. 

Peter