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closeVikings win battle of unbeatens
Puyallup wins battle for city bragging rights at Sparks Stadium on April 2
Shaun Scott
A showdown between the Puyallup Vikings and Rogers Rams soccer teams, who are currently in the midst of a well-known rivalry finally took place on the artificial turf of Sparks Stadium.
Undoubtedly, both of these teams had this contest circled on their respective calendars once the schedule was unveiled in the early spring. The importance of this showdown was heightened because of both teams’ stellar records heading into the matchup. Both teams were undefeated. Something had to give and the Puyallup Vikings (7-0-1 overall) came out of the contest victorious courtesy of a 2-0 victory against the Rogers Rams (4-1-1 overall) on April 2 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.
Puyallup got on the board quickly after Justin Veltung received a pass on a breakaway from teammate Andrew Weishaar, scoring a goal giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead in just the second minute of the game. Veltung put the game away for the Vikings after drawing the Rogers defense to double team him before threading the needle-like pass to Devin Thomas for a goal in the 53rd minute, giving the Vikings a 2-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
Puyallup’s tenacious forward was thrilled about seeing his team come out on top in a pressure-packed contest.
“They beat us in football this fall and I’m glad we didn’t let them beat us in soccer,” Veltung said. “They were supposed to be the best team in the league and we beat them tonight. I just hope we keep on doing what we’re doing and stay at the top of the league.”
Puyallup goalie Kyle Bilharz, who is one of the premier goalie’s in the SPSL, nabbed his fifth shutout of the season against his teams’ biggest rival.
“Rogers is a pretty good team. They beat Emerald Ridge 4-0 earlier this year so we knew going in they were going to be a tough team to beat. We knew how big this game was,” Bilharz said. “It was a do or die game. It was win or lose and we showed everyone who is the number one team in the division tonight.”
Rogers head coach JR Farias said his team was a little bit shellshocked after Puyallup’s early score.
“It’s a tough loss. We’re all disappointed,” Farias said. “We played hard. I think that score they got early got us down a little bit. It was the first goal we’ve given up in league play this year.”
Despite the defeat, Farias remains optimistic regarding his teams’ chances for success in the next two months.
“We still have a lot of games left. Last year we were 2-2-1 (record) at this time. This year we’re 4-1-1,” Farias said. “There already has been a huge turnaround. Most of these guys on the varsity team have been with me for three years. This is a good group of kids. We’re just going to move on from this one and look forward to facing Puyallup again later this season."