After suffering losses against Gig Harbor and Enumclaw in their first two games of the state tournament, Puyallup’s water polo team finished the season off on a good note by defeating their arch-rival Auburn-Riverside 8-6 in the seventh/eighth place contest on May 17 at the Rogers High School pool facility.
Joanna Boschee got the Vikings on the board early, scoring three goals in the first half giving the Vikings a 3-0 advantage in the early stages of the contest. Lauren Griffin chipped in three goals and Alex Clark and Emma Englund scored one goal apiece in a memorable ending to the 2008 season for the Vikings.
“We haven’t beaten them this year. We lost to them twice in the regular season,” Vikings coach Todd Fletcher said. “It’s a great to end the season with a win, especially against a team like that. It’s not too often in sports you can end your season with a victory. We didn’t want to go 0-3 against them this year or 0-3 at the state tournament. I guess we beat them when it counted the most.”
Fletcher said he was thrilled seniors Pam Akiona, Asheley Knapp, Marissa Fletcher, Clark and Boschee could conclude their senior years tasting the thrill of victory.
“They’ve worked so hard this year,” Fletcher said. “It was a great way for them to go out.”
Going into the season, Fletcher didn’t know what to expect from his diverse squad.
“We have a lot of seniors and a lot of freshman so going in I was kind of curious to see how well they would mesh. We had quite the blend of ages,” Fletcher said. “They meshed better than ever and totally jelled as a team. I couldn’t be more proud of the way they came together.”
Print
E-Mail