PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College soccer players and fans are bracing themselves for the biggest day of the 2014 season.
The Peninsula women and men tackle Highline at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday at Wally Sigmar Field in matches that will not only determine who wins the West Division, but ultimately who has the best path to the Northwest Athletic Conference Final Four.
“If you’re even a casual soccer fan, you need to get time off work, arrange sitting — whatever you need to do to be here,” Peninsula College director of athletics Rick Ross said.
“It will be a showcase of great college soccer.”
The women’s match features the two-time defending NWAC-champion Pirates, who are currently ranked No. 1 in the NWAC and No. 6 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s latest Division I Junior College Poll.
The Peninsula women are 13-1-0 in West Division play and 15-1-0 overall. They trail Highline by one point (40-39) in the West, partly due to playing one less match than the Thunderbirds.
The T-birds are 13-1-1 in the West and 15-1-1 overall, and are tied with Everet for the No. 2 ranking in the NWAC.
Highline’s only loss was a 2-0 home setback to the Pirates last month.
Peninsula’s only loss was a 1-0 match at Everett, which shares the No. 2 raking with Highline.
The Pirates have the best defense in the NWAC, giving up only one goal in 16 matches and recording a school-record 15 shutouts.
They have scored 62 goals, which is second in the NWAC behind Highline.
Individually, the Pirate scoring has been by committee, with freshmen Lexi Krieger and C.J. Stetser leading the effort with seven goals each, Tasha Inong and Mary Pierce each with six, and Solana Ashe, Alyssa Bertuleit, Paige Mahuka and Larkyn Nelson each with five.
The Pirates also defend the goal by committee. Kasie Lough is tied for second in the NWAC with seven shutouts, while Emily Flinn has four and Manaia Siania-Unutoa has three.
Highline leads the NWAC in scoring with 86 goals and is fourth in goals allowed with eight.
The Thunderbirds feature two of the NWAC’s most prolific scorers in Jessi Beverlin, who is third in scoring with 17 goals, and Paige Surber, who is fourth with 14.
Highline’s two goalkeepers, Amber Nelsen and Tessa Bruland, each have two shutouts.
The men’s match is every bit as good of a playoff preview.
The Pirates are two-time defending NWAC champions, they are ranked No. 1 in the NWAC and No. 8 in the NSCAA National Poll.
They are the only unbeaten team in the NWAC with a 11-0-2 overall record and a West Division-leading 8-0-2 mark.
Highline is 8-1-2 in the West, their only loss a 2-1 home match against Peninsula. The T-birds are 8-2-3 on the season.
Peninsula is the sixth-leading scoring team in the NWAC with 30 goals, but its defense is No. 2 with only nine goals allowed.
Like the women’s team, the men are balanced at both ends of the field.
Caio Maciel leads the Pirates with 10 goals, which is eighth-best in the NWAC. Eddie Benito has six goals, while Chris Chertude and Kassio Monteiro each have three.
In goal, Oscar Torres, Aaron Zavolokin, Nick Johnson and Julio Soto each have one shutout.
The Highline men are the fourth-leading scoring team in the NWAC with 38 goals, but their defense has been porous at times, giving up 19.
The T-birds are led by Brandon Madsen’s nine goals, and four each from Alex Lewis and Isidro Prado-Huerta.
Highline goalkeeper Greyson Raffensperger has two shutouts.
“Our rivalry with Highline began because of games like the one on Wednesday,” Kanyon Anderson, the head coach of both Peninsula teams, said.
“It has been a few years since we have had a game of this significance during the regular season for both teams.
“Highline is playing very good soccer and is probably a bit underrated, with the men being fourth and the women being third.”
Wednesday’s match will have a playoff atmosphere and Anderson is hoping his women and men will play like underdogs, rather than defending champions.
“We are ranked No. 1, but it’s important for the teams to play like we’re the underdogs,” he said.
“That is hard to accomplish when you’re coming off of back-to-back championships, but it is also what has made us vulnerable this year.
“No matter what happens Wednesday, both programs are going to benefit.”
The Pirate men were not at their best in ties against Tacoma and Bellevue on Oct. 11 and Oct. 14, but they rebounded Saturday to defeat third-ranked Clark 2-1 in Vancouver.
“The Clark game was a playoff-level battle, and it was important for us because we haven’t played great the last few weeks,” Anderson said.
“The game could have gone either way, but we got two early goals and spent most of the rest of the game protecting that lead.”
The Pirates’ two goals came from Caio Maciel on a free kick from beyond 30 yards and on a penalty kick, both in the first 22 minutes.
The Penguins only score came on a penalty kick in the first minute of the second half.
Torres did a yeoman’s job holding onto that lead with 10 saves in the match for the Pirates.
“Because it was a non-league game we were able to try a few different tactical things and get every healthy player on the roster on the field,” Anderson said.
“Clark did too, so a rematch between the two teams in the playoffs will probably look very different.”
