The Lady Cardinals finished second in the district for the fourth year in a row, holding a 10-2 district record.

On Tuesday, March 3, varsity girls soccer came up short 3-1 to Lamar.

“Before the game, I reminded people that they need to give 110%,” junior and Captain midfielder Lily Baker said. “Our game plan was to give it our all, take quick shots and to man mark their midfielders.”

From the start, Bellaire had strong defensive pressure with an immediate save from senior and goalie Lela Izaddoost. However, momentum shifted when Lamar scored two goals within five minutes of each other. Lamar played an extremely physical game and managed the windy night.

“It was difficult to stop Lamar, especially in the first half, because we were a little bit unprepared for that change in wind direction,” Izaddoost said. “I decided I was going to be aggressive during the game, and I made sure that I stepped to the ball and I dove for everything.”

Going into halftime, Bellaire was down 3-0, but the team’s spirits remained high.

“I told everyone that we are playing better than what the score shows and that we need to go show them that we deserve to be here,” Baker said. “We needed to bring up our intensity and not to give up any fouls or corners anywhere in our half.”

The intensity from the halftime huddle was seen immediately at the start of the second half. Izaddoost had two vital saves followed by multiple shot attempts by junior Sydney Bartholomew.

“The hardest part of the game was making sure that we didn’t hang our heads down even though we made mistakes,” Izaddoost said. “We make sure that we always play together as a team and never think about giving up.”

With seven minutes left in the second half, sophomore forward Ileana Valenciano scored. This was the first goal scored against Lamar all season.

“The ball was crossed into the box, and there was a little bit of back and forth between us and the other team,” Valenciano said. “When I scored, me and my teammates were thrilled, and they gave me hugs and high fives.”

Despite the loss, the Cards are proud of their “efforts and overall performance.” Their focus now shifts into playoffs.

“Towards playoffs, we keep in mind that we must have the same intensity towards every team we play due to the competitiveness of the game,” Valenciano said. “Playoff teams are skilled, and we will continue to improve and prepare ourselves to play them.”

The Cards are waiting on the district to announce the schedule for the first round of playoffs.

For more information, follow varsity girls’ soccer on instagram @bellaire_soccer.