High school girls soccer: Chappelle’s two goals lift Rogers over rival Puyallup
Provide a sliver of space to Alyce Chappelle, and Rogers’ senior forward makes you pay.
Double-teamed, triple-teamed, no matter — Chappelle was again Tuesday night’s scoring force. And no goal was more important than her second of the evening, a 36th-minute header located and pursued beautifully off Rogers forward Kiara Scheidt’s right-side cross.
The Rams faithful on Sparks Stadium’s visiting sideline erupted when Chappelle, there for the play in a flash, doubled the Rogers lead. It’s all they needed. The star forward’s two goals — her 15th and 16th scores this season — carried the Rams over Puyallup in a thrilling rivalry, 2-1.
“I just knew I had to run across that girl’s face to win that header,” Chappelle told The News Tribune. “We’ve always been their rivals. … We wanted this one really bad.”
Chappelle’s speed, dribbling, and knack for locating the ball worked wonders for the Rams on a cold, clear night under the lights. And when the inevitable double- or triple-team arrived, there was plenty of open field for teammates.
Her first score? Even the forward herself admits some luck was involved. Left open on the right side, Rogers’ top scorer closed her eyes and rocketed her first shot of the night into Puyallup’s upper left corner. It was Chappelle’s first since Oct. 17, a prolonged drought by her lofty standards.
“She has this unique ability to find the ball,” Rogers head coach J.R. Farias said. “She’s not the biggest, but she’s really strong. And mentally, she’s tough. She wants to find it, and she wants to score.”
Puyallup’s offense generated multiple first-half looks that missed wide, but Vikings forward Ella Bach would right the ship. Minutes after intermission, the star junior and Clemson commit fired a bullet over the keeper’s head from distance — roughly the 15-yard line — that cut Puyallup’s deficit in half, undoubtedly the shot of the night.
“Ella definitely puts things on her shoulders to see what she can do to turn the team around, and she did,” Puyallup head coach Matt White said. “It was a great shot, great finish.”
Rarely did the Vikings challenge the opposing net after Bach’s impressive shot, and it was Rogers that stormed the field at Sparks Stadium with a much-needed road win.
The Rams are confident Tuesday night’s victory provides a top-eight seed when district playoff brackets are finalized Thursday. That would guarantee a top-eight seed and double-elimination format, affording Rogers a loss once the Rams get there. The Vikings (10-4-2) should receive a similar path.
“Puyallup can get you and pin you, and make it really difficult on us... and they did,” Farias said. “The last couple of years, we’ve had some good battles. Two years ago, we beat them in a shootout. Last year, they beat us here in a shootout.
“It’s Rogers-Puyallup. I grew up with this rivalry. (Winning here) is something they’ve been looking forward to. When we saw this game being the very last one (on the schedule), you just had a feeling it was going to be important. I’m proud of the girls. They played really, really hard, and did an excellent job closing it out.”
