EVERETT — For the better part of the first 60 minutes, the Kamiak and Jackson girls soccer teams waged a back-and-forth scoreless battle on Tuesday night.
Then in the space of barely two minutes, Kamiak’s Emele Chaddock struck not just once, but twice.
Chaddock’s two goals midway through the second half were the difference for the Knights in a spirited 2-0 Wesco 4A victory. She scored first after a deflected shot by teammate Alexie Morris, tapping in a ball that was trickling along the goal line. Moments later she gathered a free kick by teammate Georgie Cromwell in front of the net and blasted home her second goal.
The outcome was payback of sorts for the Kamiak players, who remember well Jackson’s 1-0 win in last year’s district championship game.
“We’ve been talking about this game since before our season even started,” said Chaddock, a senior forward. “We have this sheet of goals we create at the beginning of the season, and one of our top goals was to beat Jackson at (their) home the first time we played them.
“Jackson knocked us out to go to state (last fall) and we wanted revenge so bad,” she said. “So this is really sweet. We’re going to bask in this for a while, but we’re definitely going to keep our heads on for the rest of the season. This is just another game on our way to state.”
Before the game, Kamiak coach Beth Stewart made sure to remind her players about last season’s district loss.
“That’s the first thing I said to my girls when we sat down before the game: ‘Remember the last time we played them.’… And we knew it was going to be a matchup,” Stewart said. “Jackson always brings out the best in my team, and that’s been an ongoing thing for years.”
For Chaddock, who has committed to Washington State University, it was thrilling to score twice against a rival like Jackson. But just being on the field is special, given that she missed her sophomore and junior seasons with knee injuries and subsequent surgeries. She hurt her left knee playing club soccer before her sophomore season and then did the same to her right knee before last season.
“I’ve been working really hard (to return),” she said.
“She’s been battling back ever since (her injuries),” Stewart added. “To see that kid get some success and some goals is phenomenal.”
For Jackson, which brought a 6-0 Wesco record into the match, the outcome was frustrating and, at times, puzzling. The T-wolves had a first-half goal disallowed by an offside call, “and I’m a little confused about the call myself,” coach Jesslyn Kellerman said.
“Overall, that was a really exciting high school soccer game,” Kellerman added. “Not very often do you get rivalries like that and do you get two really good teams just giving everything they have.
“We had, what, a three-minute lapse? Good teams capitalize on that. Against a team not as good we maybe could’ve come out of that lapse still tied or maybe down a goal. But good teams and good players are going to make you pay for even a three-minute lapse.”
At Everett Memorial Stadium
Goals—Emele Chaddock (K) 2. Goalkeepers—Kamiak: Shannon Peth. Jackson: Kayleigh Sedlacek. Records—Kamiak 6-0-1 league, 8-0-1 overall. Jackson 6-1-0, 6-2-1.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
