With 38 seconds left in regulation during a scoreless tie, Puyallup forward Marcus Wilson uncorked a shot from 30 yards out that appeared to be destined for the back of the net.

The laser beam was barely deflected by Rogers goalie Jake Fredrikson near the crossbar.

Puyallup got a corner-kick opportunity but couldn’t convert, and the Rams and Vikings walked away scoreless March 12 in the season opener for both teams at Sparks Stadium.

Puyallup had nine shots on goal in the final 28 minutes but couldn’t score.

Wilson said he knew the clock was ticking, and he had to try to make something happen despite being far away from the goal.

“It was desperation,” he said of the shot. “We can’t complain, though. We came out here and did our thing. We would have liked to have a better result, but you can’t always get a win.”

Rogers head coach JR Farias said his youthful defense rose to the occasion against a hard-charging Vikings offense in the second half. Farias said three of the Rams’ four defenders are first-year varsity starters.

“We played in a jamboree last weekend, and that was one of the things that was really fortunate for us, because we had an opportunity to see the kind of things we needed to work on defensively,” he said. “We made the adjustments at training, and our defense held up great tonight. They looked really good.”

Vikings head coach Matt White said his team controlled the ball throughout the majority of the game.

“We played with a lot of composure,” he said. “The kids were trying to settle the ball and then play it out. That is nice to see when you have a lot of freshmen and sophomores out there.”

White said he could tell his team was nervous in the first half but saw those jitters dissipate in the final 40 minutes.

“It was fun to see our team’s improvement, even from literally the beginning of the game to the end of the game,” he said. “I’m so proud of them. It was fun to watch them play good soccer tonight.”