Bellarmine’s Judkins scores twice, Puyallup claws back to earn 2-2 draw
It felt like it was just Bellarmine Prep’s night after Jaggar Judkins scored his second goal early in the second half of Tuesday night’s 4A SPSL boys soccer match against visiting Puyallup.
At that point, Bellarmine led 2-0 and was in total control of the match. But momentum eventually swung back to Puyallup when Roby Hooper found himself with some space just outside the box, hammering a shot to the left side of the goal to cut the deficit in half with about 20 minutes to play.
Five minutes later, Puyallup freshman forward Curran Caufield sliced through a pair of Bellarmine defenders and tapped a shot past the Bellarmine keeper to level the score. The game ended in a 2-2 draw, a relief for Puyallup and leaving Bellarmine’s players feeling like they let one slip away in a closely contested league race between the two programs and league-leading Curtis.
“A lack of ability to play in the second half,” Judkins said. “We just kept playing long balls and we just played into their game instead of playing our own game and keeping the ball. I think that’s where we messed up. If we kept it, we definitely would’ve won the game.”
The tone of the game changed after Puyallup’s first goal.
“We just needed a goal to get back into it,” Caufield said. “That just really fired us up to go get another one.”
Judkins, one of the area’s top attacking players, is dangerous because of his positioning as much as his ability on the ball. On both goals, he found himself in perfect positions, unmarked on the first goal and in position to tap in a deflection from the keeper on the second.
“Just always checking my shoulder, knowing where my players, knowing where their players are,” he said. “Trying to find the space in behind or to my feet. A lot of it has to do with my positioning and obviously, quality finishes.”
There’s a mutual respect between Bellarmine and Puyallup. When the teams meet, the players know it’ll be physical and hard-fought.
“Bellarmine’s a really good team” Caufield said. “We always go at each other when we play each other.”
Judkins agreed.
“Always rough, honestly,” he said, smiling. “Always going at it.”
