PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College’s Tim Deser became the first Pirates esports player to reach the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports playoffs, winning his quarterfinal match on Monday.
Deser, of Obing, Germany, defeated Christian Castillo of Bismarck State College in North Dakota in a best-of-three FIFA match, winning game one 2-0 and then recording another shutout in game two, 3-0.
Deser, who is also a midfielder for the Pirates men’s soccer team, joined the esports team in January.
He now advances to the NJCAA semifinals. Deser will take on Emilio Jose-Torres of Westchester Community College, in New York at 4 p.m. Saturday. Fans can watch the match at www.twitch.tv/peninsulacollege.
Deser went undefeated through three exhibition season matches and nine league matches for a perfect 12-0 record this spring, allowing just two goals the entire way.
“Tim’s record and stats sum up everything I could say when it comes to his FIFA game play,” esports head coach Katrina Campbell said. “He has been an absolute pleasure to watch both on the traditional and virtual pitch during his time here at PC.
“Tim’s knowledge and understanding of traditional soccer transferred over to the virtual world without skipping a beat. I honestly couldn’t ask for a better player to lead this inaugural season for Pirate FIFA,” she said.
The winner of Saturday’s semifinal will play in the NJCAA national championship match at 4 p.m. April 28 and livestreamed by NJCAAE.
Peninsula soccer
PORT ANGELES — Windermere Realty and Pura Vida moved into first place following the second week of Peninsula Soccer League play Sunday at Wally Sigmar Field.
Windermere got by Strait Slice 3-1, getting goals from Josh Heckenlively, Paige Mason and Ben Schneider. Luke Strong-Cvetich scored for Strait Slice.
Pura Vida also improved to 2-0 with a 5-2 win over High Energy Metals. Mekhi Ashby scored two goals, while Jennifer Gomez and Christian Salas also tallied goals for the winners. Steve Lalonde and Patrick Lariviere scored, and Kanyon Anderson contributed an assist for High Energy Metals.
In Sunday’s other matches, Salazar Painting got a hat trick from Edgar Aceves Vazquez, while Sergio Yanez and Crecencio Uzutea also scored in a 5-0 win over Pantry and Latch. Hugo Sandoval Jr. found the net twice, leading Forks FC to a 2-0 win over the Bandidos.
