HS Soccer: Rogers Hangs on to Win in Regular Season Finale

10/29/2024

Rogers 2, Puyallup 1

(Puyallup, WA) On the final night of the SPSL 4A regular season the Puyallup Vikings hosted the Rogers Rams in the stadium that they both call home. Rogers came in 1-1-1 in their last 3 matches and came off a 0-0 draw against South Kitsap in their last outing.

Puyallup was on a 4 game win streak including an 8-0 win over Spanaway Lake. The league’s top 4 teams to begin the night were Puyallup on top with a 9-1-1 followed by Sumner 8-0-2, Curtis 7-1-2, and Rogers 7-1-2. However their positions were not set in stone so there was a League Title and district crossover seeding on the line.

Start of the Match

The Rams wanted to dictate the tempo early with lots of possession and long passes down the sidelines trying to spread out a strong Puyallup defense. Puyallup’s defense, anchored by senior keeper Olivia Weidner, held off the initial wave that Rogers threw at them.

Until the 13th minute when Alyce Chappelle showed off just a few of the tricks in her bag. With a very nice first touch she gets by one defender and gets a slight opening and fires a shot home for the 1-0 Rams lead.

That goal woke the Vikings up and they really started to click on offense. Kenzie Thompson and speedy freshman Kylie Rivera gave them a spark with Ella Bach leading from her striker spot. Unfortunately for Puyallup there seemed to be a force field around the Rams goal as shot after shot went either just wide or over the crossbar. The one goal they had was called back on an offsides.

Rogers found magic again just before stoppage time. This time it was the combo play of Chappelle and Kiara Scheidt working a give and go to perfection. Chappelle with a full head of steam passes to Scheidt just outside of the 18 yard box. The one time floating pass back from Scheidt in the 6 yard box was headed home by Chappelle for the 2-0 lead at the half.

Halftime Rogers 2, Puyallup 0

The Viking came out of halftime on a mission. They somehow upped their pace even further with Emory Villacorta and Melanie Torres getting more involved in the offense. Rogers center back duo of Hailie Doan and Makenna Gazay played tough and physical throughout the match.

In the 46th minute Puyallup narrowed the gap with a beautiful goal from their star striker. Ella Bach ran down a long pass down the sideline, and with a deft touch got by a couple of defenders and finished with a left footed shot just over the hand of the Rogers keeper. The Vikings offense never let up, earning 3 corners in the 2nd half but the Rams defense was too much and the match ended in a 2-1 Rogers win.

Final Rogers 2, Puyallup 1

Our Eli Sports Network MVP went to Rogers Alyce Chappelle for her brace and her all out effort in the match. See her interview below. Rogers finishes the Regular season 9-5-2 overall and 8-1-2 in SPSL play. Puyallup finishes 9-2 in League and 10-4-2 overall on the season.

Watch the full match with an NFHS Subscription here. Check below the final standing to see highlights of all 3 goals

Final SPSL 4A Standings

	WIAA	League			Overall
Team Name	CL	W	L	T	W	L	T
Sumner	4A	9	0	2	11	2	3
Puyallup	4A	9	2	0	10	4	2
Curtis	4A	8	1	2	12	1	2
Rogers (Puyallup)	4A	8	1	2	9	5	2
Bonney Lake	4A	6	4	1	7	5	3
Olympia	4A	4	4	3	7	6	3
Graham Kapowsin	4A	4	6	1	5	7	1
South Kitsap	4A	3	5	3	6	6	4
Emerald Ridge	4A	3	6	2	3	9	3
Yelm	4A	1	9	1	5	9	1
Bethel	4A	1	9	1	1	13	1
Spanaway Lake	4A	1	10	0	2	11	0