Puyallup shuts out Emerald Ridge, 7-0

The Puyallup Vikings recorded their sixth win in a row with a 7-0 shut out of district rival, Emerald Ridge. Behind Alex Clark's strong play in goal, Puyallup played aggressive defense for the second straight game to win its third game in three days. Feeling the effects of playing three games in three days in three different pool, Puyallup appeared sluggish and were a little sloppy in the first half. Behind goals by Joanna Boschee' and Paige Boyer, the Vikings grinded out a 3-0 halftime lead. While the Viks weren't sharp offensively, they shone on the defensive side as Hope Mahnken and Katie Hayes teamed up to shut down ER's 2 meter play. Lauren Griffin stayed up with ER's speedy Brittany Bushnell to deny the Jaguars an outside threat. The defensive pressure also resulted in several shot clock violations on the Jaguars which Puyallup used in the second half to pull away. The Viking shut out was put to the test with 42 seconds left to play and Puyallup facing an Emerald Ridge power play. Boschee' got a hand on a shot from the top and Clark gobbled up the lose ball and found a streaking Boyer for the final score with 17 seconds left in the game. Puyallup is back in action on March 29 at Sumner against Bonney Lake. Game time is 3:15.