Men's Soccer Comes Up Short in Title Game
November 20, 2006

The BCC Men’s Soccer team took their season to the brink, advancing all the way to the NWAACC Championship Game.  En route to the big game, Bellevue took on Walla Walla Community College in the semifinals on Friday November 17.  BCC had been unable to beat the Warriors in their previous two meetings this season, but as it turned out the third time was the charm, and Bellevue advanced with a 3-2 victory.  The Bulldogs scored first at 39 minutes with a goal from Fede Molina (SO, Argentina). The Warriors answered before half-time with a goal by Victor Perez.  Almost immediately after the half, Walla Walla took the lead 2-1 as Julio Morales scored. Then with goals by Girard Arnaud (FR, Grenoble HS, France) and Richard Romain-Dika (SO, France) at 53 and 69 minutes, Bellevue took a lead that they would hold on to for the remainder of the game.

Up next, BCC faced Whatcom Community College in the Championship Game.  In spite of a spirited effort, the Bulldogs were simply unable to overcome the Orcas tough defense, and dropped a heartbreaker, 1-0.  The Orcas' defense did an excellent job of neutralizing Richard Romain-Dika, Bellevue’s most dangerous goal-scorer. The Bulldogs had several opportunities to tie the game, but Whatcom's goalie Robbie Wright was like a rock.  Toward the end of the game, Bellevue received a few free kicks within 25 yards of the Whatcom goal, but Wright and the Orca defense held strong. With under a minute remaining, one such kick hit the crossbar. A few seconds later, Bellevue's goal keeper, Claudio Lazar (Romania) was pulled and nearly scored twice in the closing moments.

While the loss was hard for the Bulldogs to swallow, they still came away with an outstanding season.  Romain-Dika, along with Freshman Guillermo Cardenas (FR, Juanita HS) were among the NWAACCs best offensive players.  Romain-Dika finished with 15 goals, good enough for 4th overall in the NWAACC.  Cardenas ended up with 7 goals and 8 assists, placing him among the league leaders in assists as well.  BCC finished with the second place trophy and an overall record of 14-5-3.