Kamiak claims second with 2-0 win over Shorewood

Kamiak zapped Shorewood with two quick goals in the first 13 minutes of a key Western Conference South Division game Oct. 11 at Kamiak High School.

The 2-0 win gave the Knights sole possession of second place, breaking a tie with Shorewood.

After a 3-1 win over Edmonds-Woodway, Oct. 16, Kamiak (10-2-1) holds a one-game lead over Shorewood (9-3-1) with three league games to play. Kamiak’s win over Edmonds-Woodway means Shorewood clinches at least the third 4A district playoff berth from the division. Jackson leads the division with a 12-0-1 mark.

Kamiak struck in the fourth minute when senior Kelli Stewart collected a through ball from senior Ashley Hermes and beat Shorewood goalkeeper Leah Butterfield one-on-one for the goal.

In the 13th minute, junior Carly Thomson converted a shot off a corner kick by Stewart.

“We needed this one. The girls definitely stepped up,” Kamiak coach Beth Stewart said. “It was down to who wanted it more. It was a battle.”

Butterfield said the Thunderbirds had a couple lapses on defense that hurt them.

“When you make little errors against teams that are really good they’ll capitalize on them,” Butterfield said. “That’s what happened to us.”

Shorewood kept the ball on Kamiak’s side for much of the game but never could break off a clear shot on goal that wasn’t easily gobbled up by Kamiak goalkeeper KJ Stupey.

“The defense was outstanding. They held steady,” Stewart said. “We didn’t have any real holes tonight.”

While Kamiak has a clear edge over Shorewood with two head-to-head wins and a one-game advantage, the T-birds still can make up ground, although it will be tough. They hosted Edmonds-Woodway last night, Oct. 18, and play at Jackson Oct. 23, before finishing at home against Meadowdale Oct. 25. Kamiak hosted Jackson last night and finishes at Meadowdale and at Mariner. Shorewood would likely need to win out and have Kamiak lose to Jackson and Meadowdale to get the second seed to districts.