Men’s soccer for Bellevue College has just completed its 32nd year of competing in intercollegiate athletics. Of these 32 years, the Bulldogs have had a very successful run with ten league championships and nine runners up. Adding the two together gives a total of 19 years of winning outcomes out of thirty-two, a very impressive feat.
The 2012 Bellevue College Bulldogs men’s soccer team has started off slowly with a 0-1-2 record in league. For non-soccer buffs out there that’s zero wins, one loss and two ties. Despite these numbers head coach Tao Shen has high expectations for his players and the team this season. “I expect and hope to make the NWAACC (Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges) playoffs and into the final eight or four.”
Shen and the team are giving it their best on the field, but what about off? In the past years the program has been centered on the field and only the field. This season is different as Shen and his fellow coaching staff are trying to reconfigure this mindset into a team that not only preforms on the field, but in the classroom as well. One of the goals and challenges the team faces is to reach a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0. This goal has been met with positive feedback from both players and parents. Ryan Morissey, a player who is currently redshirting, says, “He’s a good coach and really knows what he’s doing.” Redshirting is the process of sitting a year out to preserve your playability the next year. Morissey hopes that the team will give a good, strong effort to try and make the championship, but if not, then to try and win their division where Highline currently resides at first place. When asked about the team’s record of 0-1-2, he replied that the teams and leagues change yearly due to this being a community college league. “The changes aren’t the only reason,” Morissey added, “but the fact that we have such a young team. We only have four or five returners, which makes it difficult. We have to begin ground up to make progress.”
What the team really needs now is support. Not just from family and friends but of the BC community as well. The best way to help them along this season is to come during matches and show your support of the team Shen says. The team can also be supported financially by buying t-shirts, shorts and wristbands with the words “Never Walk Alone,” written on them.