PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula College men fought back after being dominated early by an exceptionally tall and strong first-place Whatcom team to force a 2-2 draw at Sigmar Field.
Pirate players and coach Jake Hughes weren’t happy with the tie afterward, though they spent much of the first half in their own end and had to come from behind to force the draw.
“You’re always frustrated when you tie,” Hughes said.
Hughes wasn’t bothered by the Orcas’ dominance in possession early. His displeasure came in how the Pirates defended the Orcas’ set pieces. Whatcom scored both of its goals on set pieces and came close three or four other times, including a goal that got waved off for offsides, on other set plays.
“Possession doesn’t win games, putting the ball in the back of the net wins games,” Hughes said.
“Our defense did OK in the second half, but we still have some deficiencies. We still have work to do,” Hughes said.
It was clear why the Orcas came into the match undefeated and in first place in the North Division. Whatcom had a number of players well over 6 feet tall and the Orcas were able to use their height to win balls and cause havoc on those set plays. In the second half, the Pirates’ defensive players did a better job winning balls from the strong Whatcom players.
Peninsula could have given up several goals early as the ball was in their end much of the first half. Whatcom had nine shots on goal in the first half, but only went into the break up 1-0.
The Pirates were able to outshoot the Orcas 5-4 in the much more even second half.
Early on, Whatcom set the tone forcing Pirates’ goalkeeper Darius Ochoa to make a diving one-handed save on a free kick in the ninth minute.
The Orcas had three corner kicks within seven minutes and finally the Orcas’ Camron Miller was able to score off of a corner kick in the 23rd minute.
The Pirates’ Joey Hollimon had an opportunity to tie the game early as he got open on the wing for a sharply angled shot, but his kick just missed the far post by inches.
The second half was an exciting back-and-forth battle as the Pirates adjusted at halftime and started forcing the action.
Juan Carrillo-Perez made a run up the right wing and his crossing pass into the penalty area forced a hand ball by the Orcas in the 49th minute. On the ensuing penalty kick by Cesar Gervacio, he found the right corner of the net to knot the game at 1-1. Carrillo-Perez didn’t get an assist, but he deserves a lot of credit for that goal.
Then Gervacio scored a beautiful goal minutes later. On a throw-in, Hollimon chested the ball to a sprinting Gervacio, who raced past his defender and shot the ball in the 55th minute for a 2-1 Pirates’ lead. Hollimon was credited with an assist.
That lead only lasted a few minutes as the Orcas scored on a beautiful set play on a free kick in the 61st minute. Alain Murhala scored on the free kick from 35 yards out by Eric Jones.
The Orcas briefly appeared to have scored another goal in the 70th minute on another free kick, but offsides was called and the goal was waved off.
In one last chance, Gervacio just missed a game-winning hat trick on a free kick when his header just missed the goal.
Gervacio’s two goals give him seven on the season.
The Pirates are still undefeated in league, though Whatcom remains alone in first place in the North Division with a 3-0-1 record (10 points). Peninsula 2-0-2 (8 points) is alone in second place. The Pirates next play at Edmonds at 2:15 p.m. Saturday.
________
Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.
Peninsula’s Sterling Penniston-John, left, goes up and over Whatcom’s Keegan Coovert during the first half on Wednesday in Port Angeles, In the background is Penniston-john’s teammate Calvin Aguirre. Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News
