TUKWILA — Going up against a team that had given up just one goal during the entire league season, the Peninsula women left their opponent shocked by scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes to win 2-0, claiming their fourth NWAC championship over the past seven years.
Clark College came in to the NWAC championship outscoring their league opponents 52-1.
The Pirates, a spectacular defensive team in their own right, allowed zero goals over the final 392 minutes of their season and only allowed seven goals over their final 21 games.
Peninsula scored both of its goals on set pieces. The Pirates got on the board in just the fourth minute on a perfect free kick from 40 yards out by Halle Watson. Watson’s kick found the head of Samantha Guzman, who knocked the ball in to give the Pirates a quick lead.
The Pirates’ next goal was even prettier. Peninsula scored on a rare direct goal from a corner kick in the 15th minute.
Emilee Greve hooked the ball into the far side of the net on a classic “Bend it like Beckham” banana kick to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
Coach Kanyon Anderson said other teams in the NWAC playoffs seemed to be getting all the attention and the Pirates fed off of that.
“It seemed like Highline had been anointed as the champion even before the playoffs began. And the girls said, ‘we’re not buying that’,” he said.
“Then [Clark] was this team that couldn’t be scored on, they said, ‘we’re going to turn that on its head’.”
Anderson said the Pirates were actually very tired after an exhausting match Friday against Highline. Coming in to the Clark game, he thought the match might actually go to penalty kicks because both teams are so good defensively.
“It was not what we expected. We expected it to be a close, difficult game,” he said.
Anderson said the Pirates have also been good on set pieces all year. Greve has a “really great, left-footed bended ball” that she showed off with her corner kick goal.
The rest of the game
The two quick goals was the end of the scoring, but not of the action as Peninsula had some other chances to score later in the half.
Not content to sit back with the lead, the Pirates’ Taylor Graham drew a penalty just outside the box in the 30th. The free kick got through the Penguins’ defensive wall, but was blocked by Pens’ goalie Maggie Higgins. Graham got off another pretty good-looking shot in the 38th minute that went wide past the left post.
The Pirates nearly had another first-half goal on a high shot from Toni Powsey that went off the crossbar.
In the second half, Clark had the ball down in Peninsula’s end much of the time, especially in the last 25 to 30 minutes as the Penguins were pressing, having to score two goals just to get to overtime.
Pirates goalkeeper Andrea Kenagy was forced to make five saves in the second half, though none were quite as spectacular as two fantastic saves she made late in the semifinal against Highline.
Desperate for a goal, the Penguins pressed late. A hand ball against the Pirates was called just outside the penalty box in the 67th minute, giving Clark a close-in free kick. They had dangerous free kicks in the 80th, 83rd and 88th minutes, but every time, the Pirates’ defense was stout, not allowing any shots on goal.
The Pirates came in to the NWAC quarterfinals a bit of an underdog. They first faced the No. 1 seed Highline in the semifinals, winning that match 1-0. Highline and Peninsula faced each other in the last two NWAC championships, with Highline upsetting the Pirates 1-0 last year and the Pirates beating the Thunderbirds 1-0 in 2016. The two powerhouses also played in the semifinals in 2015, with Highline winning.
Clark came in to the championship match with a record of 11-0-1 in league and 14-1-1 overall. The Penguins had allowed just six goals all year, including nonconference matches.
The Peninsula women finish their season 19-2-1. The Pirates’ two losses came in the first two matches of the year. Since those two losses, they have outscored their opponents 89-6.
The Pirates have now won NWAC championships in 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2018. They were NWAC runner-ups in 2011, 2014 and 2017.
Peninsula is now the first team in the NWAC soccer championship to win four championships.
