For the first time in school history, the Rams soccer squad defeated the Emerald Ridge Jaguars, nabbing a 4-0 victory on March 21 at Sparks Stadium in downtown Puyallup.
Rogers head coach JR Farias said this is the kind of win that can propel his team to the next level this year.
“This is huge for our guys and our program. It’s a big boost for us. Emerald Ridge went to state last year and we’re still looking to get into districts,” Farias said. “Since I’ve been here we haven’t been able to beat those guys. A lot of the guys on both teams know each other through club ball. That makes this win mean even more and gives us incredible momentum for the rest of the year. We’re implementing a new system and the guys are responding to it.”
Rogers sophomore goalie Jordan Young recorded the shutout, compiling eight saves during the contest. Young praised his defenders in front of him for keeping the speedy Emerald Ridge offense from getting ample shots on goal.
“Our defenders did an amazing job. Emerald Ridge is a fast team and our defense did great at clearing the ball out,” Young said. “We focused hard and kept our streak to start the year going. It feels great to be 2-0-1 (overall record). We’re heading in the right direction as a team.”
Young, who is one of five sophomores on the roster, said he didn’t want to let the upperclassmen down in such a big game.
“Most of our starters are the older guys. I wanted to make sure I did everything I could to help them get a win against our rival,” Young said. “As a team we just did a great job of shutting them down and scoring at the same time.”
Rogers got on the board early after Connor Saxe’s header directly landed on the feet of forward Kyle Johnson. Johnson beat Emerald Ridge goalie Kevin Weeks nailing the ball on the ground into the left corner of the net, giving the Rams a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute of the contest. Stephen Dutson (65th minute), Chase McCann (67th minute) and Ethan Golding (70th minute) scored a goal apiece for the Rams in their triumph. Rogers senior Bryce Humphreys chipped in two assists as well.
Emerald Ridge coach David Rosdahl, who coached JR Farias when he was in high school in the 1990s, said the Rams outplayed the Jaguars in every facet of the game.
“It just wasn’t our night tonight, it was their night,” Rosdahl said. “They kept the pressure up on us and capitalized on the situations they’re supposed to. We didn’t make very good decisions in our defensive third of the field.”
In a contest featuring a slew of free kicks and penalties, Rosdahl said that’s the norm when teams from the Puyallup School District face off against each other. Bragging rights are on the line and emotions are running high. The majority of the players during these rivalry games have known each other for years.
“It doesn’t matter if its Puyallup versus Rogers or Emerald Ridge versus Puyallup,” Rosdahl said. “These rivalry games are big ones. Every year these games get pretty physical no matter which three teams are playing each other.”
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