Bellevue College soccer coach Adam Fenster felt confident before Sunday’s NWAACC Championship match against Walla Walla.
“From the beginning, I felt that we were going to be in control of the game,” Fenster said. “We had a positive air about the team, we felt confident and we were united.”
After weathering a ferocious Walla Walla attack for the first 10 minutes of play, nothing changed in Fenster’s mind, or the minds of his players, as Riccardo di Julio and Radcliff McDougald scored goals to help the Bulldogs hold off Walla Walla 2-1 to win the NWAACC title Sunday in Tukwila.
“After the kickoff they came at us hard and put a little fear into us,” Fenster said. “They were hammering our door for the first minutes.”
Di Julio’s goal in the 20th minute on an outside shot put the Bulldogs on the board, and McDougald added another score in the 55th minute. Bellevue (14-5-3) held a 2-0 lead until late in the game, when Walla Walla’s Mikey Ramos scored in the 90th minute to get the Warriors within one late.
The goal – a fluke, as described by Fenster – wouldn’t cost Bellevue, as the Bulldogs would hold on to win its first NWAACC Championship since 2002.
“We definitely felt like we were in the control seat,” Fenster said. “But a 2-0 lead is always the most dangerous in soccer.”
For the Bulldogs, the win was even sweeter considering Walla Walla (14-4-1) has been a constant thorn in the side of Bellevue College over the years. The Warriors, who knocked Bellevue out of the playoffs last season, entered the game having already beaten the Bulldogs 4-1 on Sept. 19. But Bellevue, coming off a 4-1 victory over Spokane Saturday in the semifinals, wouldn’t let history repeat itself in the championship game at the Starfire Soccer Complex.
“It was a real cinderella story for us to meet them in the finals and beat them,” Fenster said.
Bellevue College keeper Fabian Morales was named the Men’s MVP for his play in goal. Walla Walla was the second-ranked team in NWAACC.
“These guys just had a belief in each other and a willingness to work for each other,” Fenster said. “It was the most united I’ve ever seen us.”
Joel Willits can be reached at 425-453-5045.
