Peninsula Daily News
BELLINGHAM — The Peninsula College men’s and women’s soccer teams are climbing in the national rankings and continuing to overpower NWAC North Division foes.
The Pirate women rolled to a 5-0 win over Whatcom and the men followed with a 1-0 nod over the second-place Orcas on Wednesday.
Both Peninsula teams remain unbeaten in conference play with one match remaining.
Saturday is “Sophomore Day” at Sigmar Field and the Pirates will honor 21 sophomores prior to their noon and 2 p.m. contests against Edmonds.
The Pirate men (13-0-1, 15-0-2) haven’t lost since last Halloween — at Edmonds.
In two previous matches against the Tritons this season, the Pirates picked up 3-0 and 2-1 victories.
Peninsula moved up to No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Junior College Division I Poll and has been ranked No. 1 in the Northwest Athletic Conference poll all season.
The Pirate women (14-0-0, 15-1-1) have only one blemish on their record, a 2-1 non-conference loss to Highline back on Aug. 28. Peninsula moved up to No. 13 in the nation in the latest NSCAA poll and took over the No. 1 spot in the NWAC on Oct. 13.
Women Peninsula 5, Whatcom 0
The Pirates, who clinched their sixth straight division championship more than a week ago, were facing a second-place Whatcom club that needed a win to stay ahead of Everett in the standings. The Orcas, however, were no match for Peninsula, falling 5-0 and slipping into third place.
“Whatcom is a tough team with a legitimate chance to finish second in the division,” coach Kanyon Anderson said.
“We were able to play with focus and intensity despite not needing to win.”
Goals were scored by Sydney Warren, Kameryn Jury-Hale, Coby Yoshimura, Hoku Afong and Jayna Morikawa.
Collecting assists Wednesday were Audrey Barham with two, Maddy Parton with two, and Sarah Reiber.
Akari Hoshino and Natalie Carreon combined in goal on Peninsula’s 14th shutout in 17 matches this season, tops in the conference.
Men Peninsula 1, Whatcom 0
The Pirates avenged a tie in their last meeting with Whatcom by shutting out the Orcas on their home field.
The fourth-ranked Orcas, who scored in extra time at Sigmar Field back on Oct. 8 to earn a 1-1 tie, could not manage a goal this time around against a very strong Pirate back line and the outstanding goalkeeping of Brannon Dwyer.
The only goal of the match came in the 34th minute when Kevin Medina got the ball to Miguel Valderrama, who scored what proved to be the game winner.
