Vikings sink Rams in overtime

It was a game that had been circled early in the season as a big game and it didn't disappoint as Puyallup needed a balanced team effort and overtime to edge its cross town rival, Rogers, 10-9, yesterday at the Rogers Aquatic Center. Not playing a game for almost two weeks definitely showed early on for the Vikings as they fell behind the Rams 3-1. Puyallup had its hand full mostly with Maria Schuckova, a foreign exchange student who lit the Vikings up with two quick goals from way outside that hit nothing but the back of the net. Schuckova would add three more scores in the second half but she had to work for them as Hope Mahnken settled and played lock down defense on her and Alex Clark weathered Schuckova's shot barrage in the cage stopping several of her tough to handle skip shots. Puyallup trailed the entire first half but got to within 5-4 at the half thanks to two scores from Katie Hayes, and a goal each from Joanna Boschee' and Brenda Pogue. For the first time all year Hayes took up some of the scoring slack for the Viks as she scored her two first half goals from the outside following Ram ejection fouls. She would add a third goal in the fourth quarter. Puyallup pulled ahead 6-5 with 1:16 left in the third on an incredible shot by a submerged Boschee' who shot it blind into the lower corner, sneaking it past former Viking goalie, Kelsey Hamilton. In the final frame, Puyallup got up two, 8-6 thanks to back to back scores by Sam Evans, who tapped in a miss from the outside and Hayes scored following a Ram turnover. Evans, who hadn't played in two weeks due to a shoulder injury was a nice addition as Puyallup lost Paige Boyer to ejections early in the second half and the Vikings needed other players to fill the void. The Rams butted their way back into the game though with two scores late in the quarter to tie it at 8. The Vikings had a chance to win it with 7 seconds left, but Boschee's shot from two meters just grazed the top of the cage and out of bounds. In overtime it was a test of wills and which team could hang on the longest. Puyallup lead after the first overtime period on a score from Lauren Griffin with 19 seconds left. In the second overtime, Puyallup again went up two goals on a score from Bianca Jimenez. Rogers countered with 1:44 left following a Mahnken ejection. Clark stopped a final Rogers threat with 24 seconds left as she ran the clock down giving Rogers just 1.3 seconds to work with. Following a Ram time out, their final shot fell short, and Puyallup secured its eighth straight win and took a two game lead over the Rams in the race for the SPSL title. Puyallup and Enumclaw are now tied for first with undefeated league records. The teams will meet next Friday at Puyallup.