Coming off its worst loss of the season, the Serra soccer team faced a daunting task as the Padres hosted Bellarmine in the West Catholic Athletic League opener Thursday morning in San Mateo.
The Padres were up 2-0 on Mountain View Dec. 30, only to see the defending Central Coast Section Open Division champs rally for a 3-2 victory.

Now, Serra was taking on an always dangerous Bellarmine squad, whose winless non-league record was not a fair assessment of how strong the Bells truly are as the defending CCS Division I champs.

But if last Saturday’s loss to Mountain View was a season low, then Thursday was a season high as the Padres scored early in the second half and made it stand in a 1-0 victory.

“We had a great team effort,” said Serra head coach Mike Keller. “That could have gone either way.”
Serra (1-0 WCAL, 5-2 overall), which struggled with possession the first half, got off to a quick start after the halftime break. Nate Coughlin had a ball cue off his foot on a shot at the top of the penalty box four minutes into the second half and a minute later, Edward Valasquez nodded a shot on frame that was saved.
In the seventh minute, the Bells sprung a counter-attack to get its best chance at scoring. A long outlet led to a race that which Bellarmine’s Aidan Dempsey won about 25 yards from the Serra goal. With a step on his defender, he spotted Thomas Dumont make a weakside run to the far left post.

Dempsey sent a perfect cross into Dumont’s path and he let loose an unguarded shot. But Serra goalkeeper Rafa Steinberger slid all the way across the face of the goal to make a kick save on Dumont’s effort. That play seemed to spark the Padres, who a minute later, scored what turned out to be the game-winner. The play started with some gritty play from midfielders Aydin Paz and Velazquez to keep the ball in the Bells’ end. The ball eventually found its way to Coughlin on the left flank. After a relatively quiet first half, Coughlin was a menace to the Bells defense over the final 40 minutes. He latched onto the ball and made a run toward the end line.

With the defense focused on Coughlin, Baden Smith snuck in behind the Bells defense with a weakside run at the far right post—a mirror of Bellarmine’s opportunity minutes before. Unlike the Bells, the Padres converted. Coughlin made a perfect pass to the unmarked Smith, who slotted it home for a 1-0 Serra lead.

Keller credited Steinberger’s save for pumping up his team that led to the goal. 

“Rafa’s had a great season. That was a fantastic save and I think we responded,” Keller said. “The midfield worked really hard and [Coughlin] reaped the reward.”

Coughlin was wearing out the Bells defense in the second half, making several dangerous runs and crosses throughout the final 40 minutes. He and Smith nearly hooked up again in the 72nd minute on a repeat of the scoring play and this time, Smith was even more wide open on a Coughlin left-to-right cross. Smith had time to settle, take a touch and step into his shot—but he took too much time as the Bellarmine defender closed him down and blocked the attempt.

The Padres had another strong chance in the 74th minute on a corner that was pushed aside by the Bells goalkeeper.

The final 40 minutes was a far cry from the opening 40 as Bellarmine controlled the run of play, but the opening 10 minutes provided enough action for an entire game as there was no feeling out period — both teams simply went on the attack.

Bellarmine got off a shot in the opening minute, while Serra drew a free kick 36 yards out in the second. The Bells earned a corner in the sixth minute and headed a ball on frame in the seventh.

Coming off the second of his eight saves on the day, Steinberger helped launch what appeared to be a Padres’ goal in the seventh minute. The Padres worked the ball into the Bells end before Coughlin ran down a diagonal ball to the left side of the Bellarmine penalty box.

Coughlin worked his way into some space and got a shot off across his body, a shot that deflected off Bellarmine defender.

Right to Smith, who hammered a shot into the far, upper-left “V” for an apparent goal in the seventh minute. But it was immediately waved off for an offside call on Smith and the game remained scoreless.
From that point on, Bellarmine started to control possession and the game. The Bells got off eight shots in the first half, five of which were on goal, but none that were especially dangerous for Steinberger. The defensive line of Luke Diago, Santiago Velasquez, Sam Cooper, Will Hirsch and Broghan Wilke-Hiland kept the Bells mostly at a distance or closed them down.

“We may not have had a lot of possession, but we were in the game,” Keller said.

The win is big for the fact that the Bells are a perennial CCS champ, having won seven of the last 10 Division I or Open Division crowns. And the Padres have had their fair share of disappointment against the Bells. But with Thursday’s win, Serra has now won three of its last five meetings.

But Keller knows that Thursday’s opener was just the first of 14 WCAL games and there are no gimmes. They’ll take on rival St. Ignatius Saturday, with games against Mitty and St. Francis looming.
“As much as people want to beat known teams like Bellarmine, it’s still only three points (in the standings),” Keller said. “SI, Mitty, St. Francis are all three points for WCAL (play), as well.”