Bellevue Athletic Impress in League and Cup Shutout Victories

Written by Adam Race

Bellevue recorded two shutout wins this week across UPSL and Washington Super Cup play, defeating Esperance FC 5-0 in the cup and Seattle Eagles FC 3-0 in league play. The stats for the week tell the story: 180 minutes played, eight goals scored, zero goals conceded. 

Bellevue have now posted three straight competitive shutouts and back-to-back shutouts in UPSL play, something they were not able to do in the Fall or Spring seasons of 2024. The story of the week for the Eastside Boys was depth, as just about every player on the roster saw game time either Thursday or Sunday, with five different players scoring and shutouts being posted by both Matt Janke and Bruce Corrie in net.

Striker Tyler Hopp had an outstanding pair of games, recording three goals and an assist. Eyal Shechtman has continued to be instrumental on the defensive end since returning to the squad, as well as scoring his first goal of 2025 against Seattle Eagles FC. Another player who posted notable performances this week was Nii Engmann, who, despite usually playing up front for Bellevue, started both matches as a centre back and was rock solid in defence.

The week’s results have the Black and Gold into their second-ever Washington State Super Cup semi-finals and up to second place in UPSL-Washington. BAFC now heads into a bye week after their busiest four-day stretch of 2025, and will return to action May 11 at home against in-city rivals United Sports FC.

Game one: 5-0 win over Esperance FC

In the first game of this week’s Bellevue Athletic double-header, BAFC soundly defeated local amateur club Esperance FC 5-0 in Bellevue to advance to the semi-finals of the Washington State Super Cup. Bellevue dominated the scoreboard in a physical and at times chippy match, scoring all five of their goals in the first half before settling in and controlling the second 45 en-route to the win. 

After a couple of early opportunities were sent wide, the hosts found their breakthrough in the 14th minute when Lunden Fenster, in his first Bellevue appearance of 2025, put a cross right onto the foot of Tyler Hopp, who converted from point-blank range. 

The Eastside Boys doubled their advantage in the 29th when Fenster picked the pocket of an Esperance center back and slotted it past the goalkeeper for his first Bellevue goal of 2025.

Bellevue was able to put the game away with a flurry of goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half. In the 35th a quickly taken corner kick from Fenster caught Esperance flat-footed, giving Stein a free header which he dispatched for his first goal of the match, and Fenster’s third goal contribution. Three minutes later in the 41st Tyler Hopp pounced on a free ball on the right wing and finished low to the far post to complete a first-half brace.

Stein was the second Bellevue striker to post a first-half brace, when he was gifted a 1-on-1 opportunity after a defensive mishap from Esperance in the 44th, which he calmly dispatched for his second goal of the night. Stein now has 18 goals across just 14 competitive matches for BAFC. He spoke after the match on the importance of the win as a momentum shifter. “We’re used to winning, so when that doesn’t happen for a game or two obviously it hits hard for us,” said Stein, who was confident about the team’s trajectory for the rest of the season. “We had an off game or two, and we bounced back from it, so I’m sure we’ll keep it going for the rest of the season.” Stein’s message to the squad as he leaves to start USL-2 preparations with West Seattle Junction: “Keep winning guys, let’s get to nationals.”

Esperance had their fair share of chances in the match, hitting the woodwork twice and forcing five saves out of Bruce Corrie, who picked up a well-earned shutout. This is Bellevue’s second consecutive shutout, and second overall competitive shutout of 2025. 

We are excited to reach the semi-finals again, we would love to get to another final, said Head Coach Mike Mata. “We reached our first final in the UPSL last year and won it, and then won another, we are changing the history of this club right now.” Bellevue won the UPSL state and regional finals in Spring and Fall of 2024, but now have a chance to advance to what would be their first Washington Super Cup Final. 

The game was played at Wilburton soccer field in Bellevue, which is one of the smallest fields by square feet that BAFC competes at. The club’s pass-first style tends to favor larger pitches, but coach Mata was happy with the squads performance in the tighter confines, “It was a bit box-to-box but I’m happy with the players ability to create chances and score goals. After a few games where we weren’t able to create much, it is a confidence-builder.”

Mata was also pleased with the depth shown by the squad, “I am very grateful to be in charge of this team, bringing an alternative team and getting a 5-0 result speaks to the depth of this team, and if you want to compete in this league you need to have that.”

Bellevue will face the winner of FC International and Skagit Valley Athletic in the Washington Super Cup semi-finals.

SCORING RECAP

Game two: 3-0 win over Seattle Eagles FC

Bellevue returned to winning ways in league play with their second shutout victory of the week, defeating league debutants Seattle Eagles FC 3-0 on the road Sunday in Tukwila. 

In easily their most convincing UPSL performance since matchday one, BAFC’s signature pass-first brand of soccer was on full display as they broke a 135-minute scoreless run. On the other end, some goalkeeping heroics from Matt Janke, including an incredible penalty save as well as stalwart 1-on-1 defensive work from the back line, gave Bellevue their second consecutive UPSL shutout. 

Despite sustaining pressure from Seattle Eagles in the opening minutes, Bellevue struck early in the sixth minute when a diagonal cross from Jeronimo Lucas caught the Eagles back line off-balance, leading to a mishit clearance attempt which fell to the feet of Ernesto Arevalo, who finished at the near post for his first goal of 2025. This was Lucas’s first UPSL appearance in over two years, and despite only playing 37 minutes the 35 year old was able to make an instant impact back with the squad. 

Most of Eagles early chances came from set-piece crosses, but the hosts were unable to force any early saves from Janke due to the efforts of Bellevue’s back line: Eyal Shechtman, Nii Engmann, Josh Bull, and Scott Burkholder. The defensive unit were busy and effective in the first half, winning duel after duel and recording numerous key challenges and blocks. 

Eagles first clear-cut chance came in the 38th minute when a deflected shot from Adama Kante fell to the feet of Thomas Alemayo with space to shoot, but Janke made a big 1-on-1 save from close range as the shot went right at him.

Eagles would continue to apply pressure, and were rewarded in the 41st minute when Alemayo was tripped in the box, leading to a penalty kick. Yoel Teklezghi stepped up to try and bury the equalizer, but Matt Janke did something that Bellevue fans have started to become accustomed to, diving to his right to tip the shot off the post and quickly scrambling to secure the ball as it spun back towards the goal line. Janke’s highlight-reel save kept the score at 1-0 going into the break despite Eagles having the bulk of the chances in the first half, with Bellevue scoring their only shot on net. 

In the second half however Bellevue came alive, taking firm control of the midfield and retaining consistent possession as they pushed to extend their lead. Tyler Hopp set the tone of the second 45 soon after coming in off the bench, intercepting a mishit pass from the goalkeeper and forcing a big save to keep it 1-0.

The Eastside Boys would find a breakthrough and double their advantage in the 60th minute, when some quality interplay between Ryan Halstrom and Marc Pedrosa at the top of the box led to a cross which was calmly laid off by Tyler Hopp towards Eyal Shechtman coming up on the right wing. Shechtman blasted his effort in off of the crossbar for his first goal of 2025.

Bellevue continued to grow into the game, winning their duels in the midfield and dominating the chances in the latter part of the match. Tyler Hopp was a nuisance to the Eagles back line for the entire second half as a pressing forward, and was rewarded in the 77th minute when he dispossessed a center back before calmly chipping the keeper to make it 3-0. Hopp now has 12 competitive goals for Bellevue, fourth most in club history.

Janke made a couple more saves but was mostly untroubled as Bellevue would professionally wind down the match and earn the victory, their best performance since beating Thurston 21-2 on matchday one.

“That was the best 45 minutes we’ve played all season,” said Head Coach Mike Mata to his team post game. “If we play like that from the opening whistle, we will dominate.” Bellevue handed Seattle Eagles their second consecutive UPSL shutout loss, but the Tukwila outfit and former Seattle Afrikan Premier League champions have proven their quality this season, beating current league-leaders SeaGam 3-2 on matchday one. 

“I think the first half we were a little bit slow, we had some people in different positions, we were trying a new formation,” said Assistant Coach Bryan Burkholder. “Bringing the subs in for the second half made a huge difference, it brought up the energy, the chemistry was a lot better.”

The play in the attacking third was a welcome breakthrough, but the story continued to be the quality defensive work and goalkeeping which has looked rock solid over the last few matches. “The defense came up big on quite a few occasions, Matt (Janke) made a couple big saves,” said Goalkeeping Coach Dorian Lair. “Once we started to slow things down with the lead, it gave us more opportunity to get the ball out of our feet and create more space. It starts all the way at the back, moving forward.”

The ability to start at the back and move forward was exemplified by the play of Eyal Shechtman, who was instrumental in defense while also scoring. “In the second half everyone was on the same page, everyone was able to play our game and do their job,” said Shechtman. The fullback was proud of the effort from his defensive compatriots of Josh Bull, Nii Engmann and Scott Burkholder, and showed his versatility with a thunderbolt to make it 2-0. “I knew it was going in from the moment I got it, I shot it and just ran to the corner to celebrate.”

While the last couple UPSL games have been frustrating for Bellevue, they’ve been able to lean on experienced leaders like captain Scott Burkholder to keep them accountable and grow as the season progresses. Burkholder talked about the team’s progression after the match, “I think the first half was a little lackluster to be honest, but after that PK save it picked up. We really got it together in the second half, and it’s not how you start it’s how you finish,” said Burkholder. “In the first half we were being pressed a lot within our own third, but once we started being more unselfish and doing those one or two touch passes it worked out really well and we got three goals.”

One of the highlights of the match was usual striker Nii Engmann stepping into a center back role and having a possible man-of-the-match performance defensively, with numerous chance-saving tackles, shot-blocks, and clearances. “It was just really good, he usually plays up top for us but he said he could play center back and he did a great job subbing in for that position,” said Burkholder. Shechtman also made sure to shout out Engmann’s effort “He played incredible and stopped so many attacks.”

Goalkeeper Matt Janke had yet another big game as he kept his second straight clean sheet and made the save of the season, denying a PK in the first half. “Right now we’re just playing solid, the back line, the guys off the bench, everybody’s putting in an effort and really digging their heels in.” Janke has now faced 20 penalties for Bellevue and made eight saves, an impressive record on spot kicks which has won some crucial matches for Bellevue over the last few seasons. “The key is to get big, watch the eyes. Today I was lucky enough to go up against a guy that I saved a penalty against in the playoffs last year. He shot it to my left last year, and I knew he was going to go back to my right this time, so I knew where to go.”

Janke also made sure to shout out the play from his back line, “It makes my life easy when I know the ball isn’t even going to get close to the goal, they really put in the effort today. Ultimately, it’s not just me getting a shutout, it’s the whole team.”

Bellevue are now 2-1-1 in league play, and second place in UPSL-Washington, two points behind league leaders SeaGam.

SCORING RECAP