On Saturday, Sept. 1, after closing preseason with a 1-2-0 record, the Bellevue College men’s soccer team traveled ten hours to Treasure Valley CC in Ontario, OR, for the first official match of the season, which was characterized by a large number of fouls and tackles that resulted in six yellow cards and two red cards.
Bulldogs sophomore co-captain Yahir Sandoval opened the score with a beautiful free kick in the 10th minute. In the same free kick, a TVCC defender got sent off the game for tackling Sandoval as the last man. Even though the Bulldogs were then up by one goal and one player, TVCC showed their resiliency and played a tough game, tying the score in the 21st minute.
In the second half, the Bulldogs improved their game and were able to control TVCC attackers until the Chukars managed a second goal at minute 59. However, despite the heat and long hours of travelling, the Bulldogs showed strong character and found the tying goal in the 77th minute, with a corner kick in which freshman co-captain David Lovas scored his first official goal for BC.
“Considering the challenging environment and this being our longest away trip,” said Bellevue head coach Tao Shen, “I think we played well. It was a great performance by Treasure Valley, and I was pleased that in the last 20 minutes of the second half we finally started playing the ‘Bellevue way,’ pinning some passes and creating numerous opportunities.”
Bulldogs next face Trinity Lutheran College in Everett on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m.
Last Updated January 30, 2014
