Bellevue vs Skyline - 10.20.26
bellevue 1 - 0 Skyline
65th min Saleen (Aanya)
Before our game with traditional girls soccer powerhouse Skyline, both coaches acknowledged that the final result was mostly meaningless to either team's playoff schedule. Our respective paths were set. However, it was senior night for Skyline, and as we know, senior night ceremonies add an energy to a game that is special. Friends, family, cheerleaders, balloons and a senior-led National Anthem. Wonderful. Plus, Skyline is a prestigious program, winner of seven state championships over the last 20 years. So the game was going to have plenty of competitive energy regardless of post-season impact...but perhaps not a lot of silky smooth soccer. Most of that was due to the slippery turf conditions on a chilly plateau evening. Both teams struggled to find the proper weight of passes and simple trapping became more complicated than an AP Calculus midterm. Also, both teams had just played four games in seven days, and so legs were a bit leggy, whether the player wore Spartan green or Bellevue white. Lots of effort, but tired effort. Competitive, just not pretty.
In the end, the slippery conditions contributed to the final outcome. In the 63rd minute we took a throw-in deep in Skyline territory, Ava emerged with the ball and dropped a pass to Aanya along the left sideline to maintain possession. Aanya took one touch to settle, and another to pass the ball into midfield for a checking Saleen, who spun and attacked on the dribble, leaving three Skyline defenders chasing before unleashing a thunderbolt from 25 yards...that hit the center of the goalkeeper's gloves...before slip-sliding through and hitting the net. 1-0 Bellevue. And that was it. We FTJ'd the last fifteen minutes and left Skyline with a 1-0 result that suited both teams: every player who took the field, left the field without injury, healthy to compete in our respective playoff seasons.
So the 2026 Bellevue girls soccer regular season is complete. 15 games. 10 wins, 3 losses and 2 ties. 38 goals scored, 9 conceded. 9 shutouts (excellent). Over our season, we averaged 17 shot attempts and 4 corners per game versus 7 shot attempts and 1.5 corners against. We have 16 field players on our roster, and we had 15 players record either a goal or an assist. Every available player appeared in every game. As the only 3A-sized school, we finished fourth in the top Kingco division against the very best 4A teams in our state (Mt Si finished first, Issy, Skyline then Bellevue). That's iron sharpening iron. Of course, we'd prefer to be atop the standings, but overall I'm very pleased with how we competed across the season. We have been battle-tested in a variety of ways: we've played very physical teams, possession-based speed teams, boot-ball teams, set-piece specialists, overtime games; we've faced excellent defenses and goalkeepers, and excellent attacking units full of future division 1 players. We've had our nose bloodied a few times, literally and figuratively, and returned to the field stronger every time.
We're ready for the next phase of our season.
So what's next? Here's the bracket for the 3A Kingco playoffs. On Thursday, October 29th, we play the winner of Interlake vs. Inglemoor (1-0, 4-1 Inglemoor victories in regular season) in the Kingco 3A Semi-Finals. That's our sole focus for the next week. We'll worry about what's after that, once we've earned the right to worry about what's after that.
First and foremost, since we just played four games in a week, we're going to give the team a long weekend to recover. After regular training on Wednesday, we'll take a few days off. Rest. Recuperate. Do homework. And then begin again on Monday to prepare for our Semi-Final.
We are allowed to roster 22 players during our playoff campaign and therefore, we will welcome some players from our JV team to provide more depth during the remainder of our season. Our JV team just concluded an excellent season finishing third in Kingco with a strong 9-3-3 record. We'll look forward to onboarding our new team members during next week of training.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this program throughout the season. It has been a great ride so far, and I'm looking forward to our upcoming playoff challenges.
FTJ.
Peter
