Squalicum didn’t need any extra motivation Wednesday night playing Bellingham in a battle between the Northwest Conference’s top two boys soccer teams.
Playing the city rival was enough, and for one half, neither team was willing to bend with the score at 0-0.
The Storm ultimately prevailed, thanks to two second-half goals from seniors Joshua Durfee and Gurparam Singh.
Durfee’s goal came almost immediately after the start of the second half in the 42nd minute.
“Midway through that first half, [Bellingham] really was shutting us down,” Squalicum head coach Joe McAuliffe said. “We were being a little bit too ticky-tacky and [playing] back, but as soon as we talked at halftime, we just bypassed more and that made it harder for them to shut us down.”
Squalicum’s Gurparam Singh, center, is hugged by teammates after scoring a goal in the second half. Squalicum beat Bellingham 2-0. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
Singh’s goal came in the 53rd minute to put Squalicum up 2-0. From there, the Storm defense shut down anything Bellingham wanted to do offensively as it had all game.
McAuliffe said the Storm center and wing defenders put themselves in good positions all game, but especially after the first 40 minutes.
“They’re good at pinpointing long balls and trying to get it to their forwards,” McAuliffe said. “We were challenging well for those and that’s something, in the second half, we did better, too.”
Coming into the game against Bellingham, junior Diego Villa Sanchez said the team was confident.
“We knew we were in their heads already,” Villa Sanchez said. “We came in with the right mentality thinking we were playing a bigger opponent than we really were. We were on track with each other, defending great, but overall, I just think we played how we should have.”
Bellingham’s Dillon Strain and Squalicum’s Cole Elston battle for the ball. Squalicum beat Bellingham 2-0 in a matchup of the Northwest Conference leaders on April 20 at Squalicum High School. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
The win puts Squalicum atop the conference standings with about two weeks left in the regular season.
With the postseason right around the corner, McAuliffe said the team has to remember it’s not that far away, but still has to finish the regular season strong.
“We have some games that won’t be as hard, so you’ve got to maintain the intensity and we have to be careful about not becoming very complacent,” he said. “We have to keep that movement of the ball regardless of who we’re playing, and practices have to be serious.”
Squalicum’s next game is at 7 p.m. Friday at Oak Harbor. Bellingham will play at home at 7 p.m. Friday against Meridian.
