MOUNT VERNON — The Peninsula men and women remained alone in first place in the North Division with identical 2-1 road victories over tough Skagit Valley teams.
The women particularly had a close fight, getting the winning goal against the Cardinals in the 87th minute from Breanne Kuni.
It was the second one-goal victory over Skagit Valley this year for both the Pirates men and women. Earlier this season, the men beat Skagit Valley 2-1 and the women beat the Cardinals 3-2.
And they had to come from behind. The Cardinals got the opening goal of the match in the 16th minute. The Pirates tied it in the 24th minute on a goal by Carissa Miller, with an assist going to Kayla Alcott.
The match remained tied for the next 63 minutes with the Pirates finally breaking through for a goal near stoppage time. Alcott got the assist again as she tallied two points.
The Pirates did outshoot the Cardinals 11-6, with seven shots on goal. Skagit Valley had three shots on goal.
The win keeps the women’s record perfect on the season. The Pirates (7-0-0, 11-0-0) next play at home at noon Saturday against Edmonds (0-6-1, 0-8-1).
Men’s game
The men likewise had to come from behind as Skagit Valley got the opening goal of the match in the 13th minute.
Hide Inoue added to his NWAC-leading goal scoring total by tallying two goals in Wednesday’s match. Inoue scored his first goal in the 31st minute and his second in the 62nd minute. Inoue now has 10 goals on the season.
Nico Hernandez and Mason Haubrich had assists.
Skagit Valley outshot the Pirates 9-8. Three Cardinals’ shots were on goal, while the Pirates had five shots on goal.
The Pirates men (6-0-1, 9-0-1) next play at home at 2 p.m. Saturday against Edmonds (1-4-2, 2-5-2).
