PORT ANGELES — New division, new coaches, same old Peninsula College soccer dynasty.
The Peninsula College women defeated Whatcom 6-0 on Wednesday at Wally Sigmar Field to win their 12th straight match and secure the North Division championship, joining the men, who shut out the Orcas 5-0 on Wednesday, as division champs.
The men had clinched their seventh straight division title Saturday, and the women made it a Peninsula sweep, securing their fifth straight division crown with one match remaining on their conference schedule.
The previous division titles came in the West Division, where the Pirates had become a dominant force in Northwest Athletic Conference soccer.
Peninsula, however, moved to the North this year, where it has continued its winning ways with two new coaches helping to guide the ships.
Cale Rodriguez took over the men’s program, and former Peninsula player Jake Hughes was named the lead assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s programs this year.
With Kanyon Anderson returning as women’s head coach, the program didn’t skip a beat.
“We’ve been in the North Division for basketball since 1997, so it feels like home for all of our teams to play there,” said Rick Ross, Associate Dean for Athletics and Student Life at Peninsula College.
“We weren’t sure how it was going to go, but it’s pretty competitive from top to bottom.
“We don’t take these division titles for granted. It’s a big deal to win your league and it’s a testament to the hard work our coaches and athletes put in.”
The Peninsula women are ranked No. 1 in the NWAC Coaches’ Poll for the first time this season.
The men, meanwhile, moved up from third to second in the men’s poll. (See both polls on Page A10).
The Pirates will close out regular season play with a doubleheader Saturday at Edmonds and then have a week to prepare for the NWAC quarterfinals at Wally Sigmar Field on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The women (13-1-0, 18-1-0) will host the winner of a first-round playoff between the No. 2 team in the East Division, either Treasure Valley or North Idaho, and the No. 3 team in the South, Chemeketa or Clackamas, at noon that day.
The bracket is the same for the men (11-1-2, 13-2-3), who will take on the winner of a match between Walla Walla and either Chemeketa or Southwestern Orgeon. That game will follow the women’s game, kicking off at 2 p.m.
Women’s Match
Peninsula 6, Whatcom 0
The final score of Wednesday’s match is a little misleading. The Orcas are battling for a playoff spot and played tough defensively for 74 minutes.
Peninsula got on the scoreboard with two minutes remaining in the first half when NWAC assist-leader Myu Ban played a ball ahead to speedster Ellie Small on a breakaway, and the freshman made it count to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead at halftime.
The Peninsula women then continued to batter the Whatcom goal with shots, but didn’t break through for an insurance goal until Hoku Afong scored in the 75th minute.
That turned into a fire sale on insurance, as Ban, Coby Yoshimura, Paige Mahuka and Michele Whan all scored in the next 12 minutes to break the match wide open, as the Orcas simply couldn’t compete with the deep Pirates for 90 minutes.
Lexi Krieger, Bri Jackson-Vallente and Brenda Torres-Hernandez picked up assists during the scoring onslaught.
Manaia Siania-Unutoa recorded her 11th shutout of the season for Peninsula.
Men’s Match
Peninsula 5, Whatcom 0
The Pirates had already clinched their North Division title, but had another agenda in mind Wednesday: avenging a 3-0 loss to the Orcas on Oct. 10 in Bellingham, Peninsula’s only North loss in 2015.
The Peninsula men struck first in the 28th minute when Jonathan Vasquez sent the ball to the feet of Johnny Martinez in the left side of the box, and the freshman ripped the ball past Whatcom goalkeeper Manuel Mendez for a 1-0 lead.
C.J. Harvey added a goal, assisted by Vitor Maia, in the final minute of the half to make it 2-0.
The match began to take a turn for the worse in the second half, as Whatcom became frustrated by Peninsula’s relentless defense, and cards began to flow on both sides.
Whatcom picked up a red card on a Canyon Silliman foul in the box that led to a Keo Ponce penalty kick and a 3-0 Pirates lead in the 55th minute, but Ponce then exited the game himself following his reaction to the penalty kick — and the teams would each play a man down for the final 35 minutes.
The Pirates added goals from Joe Sorensen and Martinez in the final minutes to account for the 5-0 margin. Martinez’s goal was assisted by Sorensen.
Nick Johnson had eight saves to earn his NWAC-leading ninth shutout.
