Bellevue Athletic and 3 Cities FC battle to a scoreless draw on the Eastside
Written by Adam Race
Bellevue Athletic and 3 cities FC finished on level terms 0-0 after 90 tense minutes of physical and defensive soccer on Saturday at Bellevue College. Three matches into the 2025 Spring UPSL season, the Eastside Boys are 1-1-1 and sitting on four points. The result snaps a 10-game home winning streak for Bellevue going back to the end of the Spring 2024 UPSL season.
The first 45 minutes saw both teams trade possession and momentum, unable to find a clear route to goal. The only shot on target of the first half came for 3 Cities from an acute angle, which was parried away by Bellevue goalkeeper Matt Janke. 3 Cities looked dangerous going forward and at times controlled the flow of play, funneling the ball down the left wing and creating service into the penalty box. The 3 Cities strike core of Jayson and Angel Castillo, which accounted for 4 goals against Seattle Eagles last week, seemed to have all of their usual creativity but lacked the finish. Four good chances for the Tri-Cities outfit were sent over Janke’s crossbar in the first half, with Jayson Castillo also sending a point-blank header wide of the net.
For Bellevue, Alec Willett was highly involved in his Spring 2025 UPSL season debut. Willett worked tirelessly on the left wing, hounding the 3 Cities backline and creating several quick opportunities off interceptions. Jackson Finn once again looked to be the early spearpoint of the Bellevue attack, and a first-time effort from the big center-forward looped over the bar for Bellevue’s first shot of the game. Aside from an off-target Liam Raney header following a corner kick, Bellevue’s three best chances of the first half were called back by the referee, twice for offside and once for a shove in the box. The linesmen on both touchlines were busy, with the two teams often testing the opposition backlines with through balls, but failing to consistently time their runs.
The second half started in a similar fashion to the first, with the teams battling in the midfield and wide areas, unable to create a big chance. That was until the 53rd minute when a well-weighted through ball found the run of 3 Cities’ Felix Mendoza, who was able to shield off a defender and take a shot from short range, which was saved by Janke.
Janke was once again called into action in the 72nd minute when he was able to tip a long-distance effort from Mario Jacobo wide of his net. Janke would end up tallying five saves in the match, with four of them coming in the second half.
Bellevue head coach Mike Mata ended up making seven substitutions in the second half, meaning only two players on the squad list for the day did not see time on the pitch. Despite a completely new forward line with the additions of Tyler Hopp, Kenny Mansally, Fellipe Souza, and Ernesto Arevalo, the Eastside Boys were still unable to score or force a save out of 3 Cities goalkeeper Aaron Lowry in the second 45 minutes.
The hosts’ best chance of the match came in the 79th when Tyler Hopp muscled his way into the box, rolling a cross right in front of the net. In the ensuing goal-line scramble, Eyal Schechtman had his shot blocked not once but twice by Pablo Castillo at point-blank range to deny Bellevue their breakthrough. This would serve as the Eastside Boys’ best opportunity of the match, and the 90 would come to an end just as it had started, with the two sides locked at 0-0.
This was Bellevue’s first competitive clean sheet of 2025, but also the first time they had been held scoreless since June 15th, 2024, when 3 Cities defeated the eventual state and regional champs 1-0 in Kennewick in the final game of the Spring 2024 UPSL regular season.
On the defensive side, second half substitute Sasha Brevus was excellent for Bellevue in his 2nd UPSL appearance in black and gold, winning almost every duel on the ground and racking up clearances. Josh Bull was Bellevue’s main man in the air defensively, denying numerous crosses from open play and set-pieces with headed clearances.
“I think it was a very complicated team to play against; they are very organized,” said Head Coach Mike Mata after the match. “It was hard for us to play our game… soccer is a state of mind, if you come with a weird mindset, then that’s it.”
One of the team’s main points of frustration was link-up play in the attacking third and difficulty getting shots on net. “We couldn’t combine, we couldn’t connect passes, which was pretty frustrating,” said Mata. “But at the same time, they didn’t create either, so that’s a positive.” The scoreless draw is the first shutout kept by Bellevue in Spring 2025 UPSL play, and despite forcing a few quality saves out of Janke, 3 Cities had limited chances. “That was an improvement from us. The game was very physical in the middle, so it was difficult for both teams to reach the final third and create shots.”
For the second straight week, Matt Janke was one of the stars of the game for Bellevue, and while last week against SeaGam he was unhappy to let in three goals despite several big saves, this time around he got credited with a much-deserved shutout. After the match, Janke was very positive about the defensive effort put in against 3 Cities. “It’s great, ultimately you’ve just got to keep the ball out of the net, and when it goes your way it’s really exciting.” Janke has now posted four shutouts in 25 career competitive games for Bellevue, both of which lead the club all-time amongst goalkeepers. “It’s just a mindset I show up with. I expect to keep the ball out of the net, and I think I hold myself to a very high level,” said Janke after the match. “I expect to get a shutout every single game, and I know that I have that capability. No matter the shot, no matter the situation; one on one, shots from deep, crosses, I feel really comfortable keeping the ball out, and that’s what I did today.”
Bellevue have a quick turnaround with two games coming up this coming week. On Thursday, they will take on local amateur side Esperance FC in the second round of the Washington Super Cup, before returning to UPSL play on Sunday on the road against Seattle Eagles FC in Tukwila.