MOUNT VERNON — The Peninsula College men’s and women’s soccer teams remain at the top of their divisions after a trip to play Skagit Valley.
The Peninsula women earned their 10th shutout of the season with a 6-0 win in a game that was called after 71 minutes.
In the men’s match Wednesday, the Pirates and Cardinals played to a scoreless tie.
The Peninsula women wasted little time lighting up the scoreboard, netting goals in the second and ninth minutes to take an early 2-0 lead.
Lexi Krieger set up both goals, assisting on Hoku Afong’s goal in the second minute and Brenda Torres-Hernandez’ goal in the ninth minute.
The Pirates added three more goals before the end of the first half to lead 5-0 at the intermission.
Myu Ban set up Bri Jackson-Vallente in the 24th minute, and Audrey Barham assisted on goals in the 28th and 34th minutes by Olivia Moore and Coby Yoshimura, respectively.
Moore opened the second half with her second goal of the game in the 49th minute to give Peninsula a 6-0 lead. This score was set up by Kendall Howell.
“We moved the ball well from side to side and were pretty efficient in front of the goal,” Pirates coach Kanyon Anderson said.
Moore’s second goal would be the final score of the match, which would end prematurely 22 minutes later.
“A Skagit player suffered an ugly injury in the game, and both coaches decided to forego the final 20 minutes of the game out of respect to her and the other Skagit players,” Anderson said.
“We are wishing her a quick and full recovery.”
Pirates goalkeeper Cicely Warnick earned her third shutout of the season.
Anderson said every players on the Peninsula (7-1-0, 12-1-0) roster saw the field Wednesday.
The Pirates remained tied for first in the Northwest Athletic Conference North Division with Everett.
The Cardinals dropped to 0-7-1 in North (2-7-1 overall) and are in last place.
Men’s Match
Peninsula 0, Skagit Valley 0
The Cardinals came out with intensity early and forced Pirates goalkeeper Nick Johnson to make a tip save over the crossbar.
Peninsula made a few tactical adjustments and settled into the NWAC North contest.
Johnny Martinez had a one-on-one opportunity against Skagit Valley goalkeeper Adriano Terenzi. Martinez beat him, but his shot was cleared by a defender tracking into the box.
Peninsula controlled the ball in the second half, but couldn’t muster many shots that tested Terenzi.
Salvador Vargas picked up what Peninsula coaches said was a questionable red card during a tussle in the middle of the field in which a couple of players from both teams got caught up and fell to the ground.
Minutes later, a Skagit player had to leave the field after earning his second yellow, and both sides were down to 10 players.
Peninsula’s best chance in the second half came from a corner kick when Joe Sorensen headed the ball down across the box, but it hit a teammate and deflect just over the crossbar.
Johnson made five saves and earned his NWAC-leading fifth shutout of the season for the Pirates.
Despite the draw with fifth-place Skagit (2-4-2, 2-6-2), Peninsula (6-0-2, 8-1-3) still sits alone at the top of the North Division standings.
Orcas next
The Peninsula teams travel to Bellingham on Saturday for a doubleheader against Whatcom.
The Pirate men can add to their three-point lead in the NWAC North by defeating the second-place Orcas (5-1-, 6-2-2).
The Peninsula women open the doubleheader against Whatcom (3-5-0, 4-6-0) at noon.
