By Gerardo Bolong

Finishing what you start gets you to your destination.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the Valley Ridge Fields, the Seattle Christian Warriors finished their attacks just enough to complete a 15-2 Nisqually League girls A girls soccer second place regular season with a 2-0 shut out of the visiting Bellevue Christian Vikings. Seattle Christian will host the the District 1 No. 4 seed on Nov. 5 at a location to be determined. The only SCS losses were to undefeated Eatonville (15-0).
"We lost five seniors, including three starters from last year," said Warrior head coach Melissa Dunckley. "Our focus has been to fill the positions and keep ball possession. During the season, we were able to do this well at times, but also had some games where were less successful with it. Bellevue Christian played tough defense, today. This was a tough game for us to prepare for the playoffs. We had lots of chances, but their goal keeper made some great saves."

After a scoreless first half which featured a plethora of SC opportunities, Seattle Christian opened up the second half even more aggressively to besiege the Vikings constantly.

In the 60th minute of play, the regular bombardments of the Bellevue side of the field became fruitful when Abigail Kim cleared herself down the middle to outflank the Viking goal keeper on an assist from Tanna Brinkman.

The constant battering of Bellevue (5-10-1) produced the game's final goal after Morgan Gaston scored on a header following a Brinkman corner kick.

Despite blasting away regularly at the Vikings, the Warriors failed to score again in goal keeper Erin Swain's shutout.

Moving through Tri-District will require a steady effort from all SC Warrior players.

"We need to keep possession and finish our possessions by scoring," said Dunckley. "If we get our shots, we need to make most of our shots."
Seattle Christian team captains all agreed with coach Dunckley and each also had additional thoughts, "We need to pass the ball quickly to get those shots," added Gaston.

Shaina Mitchell admitted the struggle to finish (during the regular season).

"We just have to finish better," she said.

Brinkman looked back at the development of the squad plus the strategy involved.

"I thought the team improved upon our 'want' to play," she stated. "To finish better we have to play at a quicker pace."

In summation, Payton Hibbard gave out the bottom line.

"Possessing the ball is key," she concluded. "When we stay busy and moving, we play our best."

In this match up, seniors Cassidy Stobart, Shaina Mitchell, Kim and Gaston were honored in their last regular season home game for the Seattle Christian Warriors.