OLYMPIA — Aggression on offense isn’t abnormal for the Olympia Bears. Ten to fifteen shots on goal per game is the expectation.
But Olympia fired a staggering 27 shots on goal against Yelm Wednesday night in a 4-0 victory at Ingersoll Stadium, compared to just two by the Tornados. The Bears dominated possessions, primarily in the first half when it seemed no two consecutive Yelm passes could be completed. Olympia’s defense consistently set up opportunities for its offense, and the Bears converted with four goals, two of which came from sophomore forward Brett Bartsch for his first brace of the season.
“I would have felt better putting a few more balls in the back of the net before halftime,” Olympia head coach Ty Johnson said. “We had the lead, which I told them was necessary. Every team in this league is tough. No one is gonna give you a game.”
Olympia was aggressive from the opening kickoff. Sophomore forward Pyke Celedonia pushed the pace for the Bears offense; if he wasn’t striking the ball for a shot himself, he was finding his teammates for shots down the pitch.
One minute after Bartsch narrowly missed an open Celedonia near the box, Celedonia found Bartsch, who kicked the ball into the left side of the net with his left foot to give Oly a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute.
“As a sophomore, Pyke is a natural-born leader. He’s got a drive. He’s got another gear,” Johnson said. “He just puts his head down, and he wants to score. He’s very creative in getting to the end line and making passes.”
Celedonia got his chance to score in the 34th minute, finding the back left corner of the net with his right foot. The Bears defense did not allow a shot on goal in the first half, and all Yelm could contribute in the first 40 minutes was a corner kick in the third minute that could not produce a goal.
However, Yelm junior keeper Gage Brackett made multiple impressive saves to keep Olympia from increasing its lead, which was 2-0 at halftime.
Six minutes into the second half, Yelm’s Steven Petersen gave the Tornados their best shot, but it was saved by Olympia keeper Declan Borden. Olympia scored its third goal in the 60th minute as Joseph Raso recovered a missed shot off the post by Casey Smith and scooted the ball into the net.
The Bears earned a pair of corner kicks in the 66th minute and came up empty on the first one before Bartsch converted with a header on the second for his second goal of the night.
“Brett always gives 100%. We need him as we continue through the rest of the season because we’ve got a lot of tough games coming up ahead of us,” Johnson said. “He’s a big necessity to put the ball in the net.”
Olympia held strong for the final 14 minutes, communicating on defense no matter what the scoreboard read.
“We really believe in each other. The passion we have to play for each other helps us a lot,” Bartsch said. “Our coaches really believe in communication. They say that when we don’t communicate, we don’t play as well, and I feel like that’s true. Communication is a huge thing with us.”
On the fourth and final goal, Yelm head coach Miguel Gonzalez was issued a red card and was ejected from the game and will miss the Tornados’ (1-7-0, 0-4-0 South Puget Sound League) next contest against Emerald Ridge April 14. Despite the loss, Tornados assistant coach Phil Perry said the young team showed growth against one of the top teams in the South Puget Sound League.
“It was a really good effort. The boys stayed pretty organized. Olympia is a really good team. They’re good from the front to the back,” Perry said. “We had a couple of breakdowns and a couple opportunities that got away from us. But, for the most part, we’re seeing some growth. I thought it was the kind of game we wanted to play.”
Olympia (6-1-3, 2-1-1 South Puget Sound League) has a tough road ahead with four of its final seven games on the road, starting with a visit to Spanaway Lake (2-2-1, 1-2-1 South Puget Sound League) April 14.
As the Bears get deeper into the season, Johnson is enjoying how young players are stepping up in place of injured teammates. Unlike last season, Olympia has a deep bench of players who can contribute, which Johnson believes can be a weapon in a grueling league slate.
“We’re pretty deep, and it’s given a lot of opportunities for guys on the bench to get a lot of minutes,” he said. “Last year, our challenge was not having such a deep bench and then getting to state and being tired from playing in so many games and so many minutes. The depth is pretty exciting.”
