PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College men’s soccer team played to its second consecutive tie in a scoreless home match against Bellevue at Wally Sigmar Field.
Two straight draws might be tough to swallow for a team accustomed to dominance.
But the sky isn’t falling.
Pirates still in charge
Peninsula (8-0-2, 10-0-2, 26 points) remains atop the Northwest Athletic Conference West Division by three points with three matches remaining in their quest for a sixth straight West championship.
The Pirates also remain atop the Northwest Athletic Conference Alaska Airlines Coaches Poll as the only unbeaten team in the NWAC in their quest for a third straight NWAC championship.
And the Peninsula men are currently ranked No. 8 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division I Junior College Poll.
Despite all of that, the mood after Tuesday’s 0-0 tie with Bellevue was somber.
Peninsula had outshot the West Division’s third-place Bulldogs 16-5.
The Pirates managed to hit every post, crossbar and backstop, not to mention seven outstanding saves by Bellevue goalkeeper Daniel Faundez, but couldn’t get the ball in the goal.
It was also a match that took a physical toll on the Pirates.
Peninsula trainer Margie Bowlby was the busiest player on the team, treating a number of Pirates and Bulldogs throughout a brutal 90 minutes that saw three key Pirates knocked out of the game.
Starting keeper Aaron Zavolokin went down with a shoulder injury, Kassio Monteiro was treated at Olympic Medical Center for a bloody facial cut and Julio Soto suffered a foot injury.
Despite those injuries, the Pirates dominated play, peppering the Bulldog goal with shots.
Caio Maciel, Chris Chertude, Eddie Benito and Hugo Marques each had three shots on goal, Victor Sanchez had two and Trevan Estrellado and Dylan Clark had one each.
At the other end, freshman goalkeeper Oscar Torres checked into the match following Zavolokin’s injury and helped keep Bellevue out of Peninsula’s goal with four saves to combine for the shutout.
The Pirates will now prepare for two very big matches.
Peninsula travels to third-ranked Clark (7-0-3, 11-1-3) for a nonconference match Saturday and then is back home to battle fourth-ranked Highline (7-1-2, 7-2-3, 23 points) next Wednesday in a match that will likely decide the West Division championship.
