'Hard to put this one into words': Emily Adams savors big moment in Jackson girls soccer win
JACKSON TWP. — The shot cut through the chilly fall air and landed in the back of the net. The Jackson High School starters hugged Emily Adams as the bench charged the field. The golden goal had finally been scored with 3:35 left in overtime against a tenacious GlenOak defense.
Adams' game-ending goal lifted Jackson a 1-0 win over the Golden Eagles in a Division I, Northeast 1 girls soccer district semifinal.
"Oh my goodness it's hard to put this one into words," Adams said. "The scene just keeps replaying in my head. Seeing everybody charging off the bench was the best feeling in the world. When I got the ball and was lining up the shot I was just thinking it had to go in. We had so many opportunities and we needed one to go in. I was just hoping to make that shot the one."
The goal by Adams sends Jackson back to the district finals. A place where the Polar Bears have won 10 district championships in the last 12 years.
"It was nice to see Emily score that goal for us tonight," Jackson head coach Frank Gagliardi said. "She has worked very hard for us all season long and she has a good presence in pressure situations. It was a big moment for us."
It was a moment GlenOak made Jackson work hard for. The young Golden Eagles firmly established themselves as a team to watch over the next couple of years.
"They played us really hard last time and they have continued to improve and solidify things since the last time we saw them," Gagliardi said. "They really made us work hard for this one. We are going to have to focus on recovering over the next day and go from there."
The match was incredibly even in the first half. Both teams had two shots on goal at the break. Jackson amped up the pressure on offense in the second half. Jackson held a 11-0 advantage in shots on goal in the second half and overtime before Adams finally broke through for the score.
"We gave the kids a talk at halftime," Gagliardi said. "We did switch some things up up front but we also stressed controlling the ball and playing with confidence. Those are things we struggled with at times in the first half."
Seniors such as Adams also felt a sense of urgency as the game moved along with no score.
"It really started to settle in that if we didn't get it going that this was possibly going to be our final high school game," Adams said. "We weren't ready for that to happen. We came out in the second half and just tried to go all out to make sure it didn't."
Jackson (13-5) advances to play Walsh Jesuit, the No. 1 overall seed in the blended district brackets, in the district final at 6 p.m. Thursday at Mayfield High School. Walsh routed Madison 8-0 in its district semifinal. Walsh Jesuit defeated Jackson 2-0 in the regular season in early September.
"It's exciting to be able to continue to play," Adams said. "I'm glad to have more time with this group of girls. We are so close and we aren't ready for the season to be over. We want to try to go as far as we can."
GlenOak wraps up a strong year at 9-6-3. There are plenty of reasons for Golden Eagles fans to be excited about the future.
"We made some exciting progress this year," GlenOak head coach Brent Walker said. "We were starting three to four freshman at times this season. For this group to make it to this game and perform at a high level and go toe-to-toe with a program like Jackson really sets us up for a promising future."
The exhausted Golden Eagles exchanged hugs and smiles after breaking the huddle for the final time this season.
"I just told the girls that I hope they know that the future is bright," Walker said. "I'm really proud of their effort tonight. They had a great performance. We're looking forward to see where they go from here."
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @chickmanREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Jackson High School girls soccer beats GlenOak in OHSAA district
